There are many things going wrong for Crystal Palace of late, and they boil down to a lack of rotation, few options to change things up, and an absence of squad depth amid a hectic schedule.

That is most telling with Palace’s attack and their No 10 position. Daniel Munoz’s absence through injury has hit them hard, Ismaila Sarr being away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal has further depleted them, and Daichi Kamada’s hamstring injury has compounded their misery.

The arrival of Yeremy Pino in the summer was heralded. A young, talented Spain international forward who was sure to contribute. There have been flashes of that ability; even in October’s unbeaten run-ending 2-1 defeat by Everton, he linked well with Sarr, and his goal in a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers was perfectly taken, but that aside, he has not offered enough.

In mitigation, moving to an unfamiliar country and learning to adapt to the Premier League will be a challenge, especially given the physicality of the league. Kamada is an excellent example of how it can be difficult to make true and fair judgements early on, given his improvement at the end of last season and throughout the start of this one, and Glasner has repeatedly made that point this season.

Pino is a long-term option; he is only 23, and in time, he may well come good, but Palace need him to step up sooner. In Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, there were moments when he played excellent passes to help build attacks, but others when he lost possession in the attacking third or failed to produce quality when it was required. Too often in recent weeks, he has given the ball away.

He improved in the second half against Tottenham, but was equally let down by the failure to finish by Jean-Philippe Mateta, among other team-mates. The responsibility is a shared one.  

In other circumstances, he could be left out of the starting XI. Not because his performances have been woeful, but because Palace need something different and he might benefit from a period out of the team. Without Sarr’s direct running in behind and having not replaced that freedom-loving, individuality of Eberechi Eze, Palace are too functional and one-dimensional. Pino’s technical ability is not currently compensating for that.

A glance at Palace’s bench highlights part of the problem; there is no one to help push Pino on, to threaten his place, or simply to offer him some respite physically or psychologically. Christantus Uche is now seen more as a No 9, while Romain Esse is young, largely untested, and untrusted.