NEW Crystal Palace signing Zavier Gozo has outlined how surreal it will be to feature on Premier League highlights shows after watching them with his brother and dad growing up in the United States.
Gozo, 19, who is one of his country’s top prospects, has signed a five-year deal after moving from Real Salt Lake in a deal worth £11million.
Gozo can play as a right wing-back or right winger and is Palace’s sixth signing of the summer, after Oscar Mingueza, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Dwight McNeil, Evann Guessand and Anan Khalaili.
Utah-born Gozo scored scored six goals and provided four assists in Real Salt Lake’s first sixteen MLS games of this season.
He was close to being in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for the World Cup and has represented his country at every level up to under-23.
Gozo was one of the top dribblers in the league and has earned a reputation for close control.
He described what he would bring to Pierre Sage’s side.
“[I’m excited] by just the people and the project that Palace have going here,” Gozo said on Palace’s website.
“I’m interested in how they can develop me and help me get to where I want to be, and obviously just the people and the club environment are top.
“I’d describe myself as a dynamic player. I like to run in behind. I like to run with the ball and dribble and shoot and score goals.
“I have a little bit more of a magnified look at Palace just because Chris [Richards] is here and in the US there’s so much news about that.
“I’ve seen a lot of them and that’s what excites me about this club as well, just the success recently that they’ve had.
“I’m excited to play and score some goals for this team.
“[I used to] wake up every morning to watch the games.
“Me and my brother used to watch all the Premier League highlights, every day, all day, with my dad.
“It’s crazy to think that I could be in those highlights.”
Meanwhile, Palace arrived back in London after finishing their pre-season tour in Germany with a 2-0 defeat to Freiburg. The squad then played an additional 30-minute training game.
The Eagles kick off their Premier League campaign against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking earlier this week, Sage felt he needed more time with the squad on the training pitch.
“For the moment, I think we are not ready to play because we need more sessions,” Sage said. “With the starting eleven, we have only two or three players who have been here with us from the beginning without injury.
“That’s why it’s difficult. We played maybe 30 minutes good in the first half, but it’s not sufficient because a game like this is 120 minutes. Only a quarter is not sufficient to work something else.
“It was a moment to work together with all the players. As I said before, we need more time because it’s a new staff with new ideas. To implement this kind of thing, it takes time.
“I think the players who were with us from the beginning [of pre-season] understand better than the new ones. That’s why we adapt and we will do a lot of things that the team did last year.
“Because we have less time to work, we will continue our work during the season.
“The Premier League is different than pre-season because the atmosphere is different. The way we treat the game is different. Maybe the mindset of the players, too.
“The only thing that is important during this time is the result and how we build it. That’s why this week we have to work.
“Like I told the players, the only shelter we have is the job and the work.
“We need to improve. We know we are late, but we have to reduce this gap with the other teams. We have to be competitive during the first game.”
