EVERYONE may be raving about Wilfried Zaha at the moment but Dougie Freedman believes fellow winger Yannick Bolasie is just as worthy a candidate for acclaim.

Bolasie has been a revelation since arriving from Bristol City in late August and making his debut in the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on September 1.

That was Palace’s first league success of the campaign and since then they have gone on to pick up 16 points from 18, no coincidence bearing in mind Bolasie’s form.

Big sacrifices were made to ensure Palace got their man after the French-born winger became a target for Freedman several months ago and the manager is ecstatic his decision to bring the 23-year-old in has paid off.

The Selhurst gaffer said: “I’ve been after that kind of player for a long time.

“We’ve kept some tabs on him and we were very fortunate to get him at the beginning of the season.

“We had to make tough decisions, make no mistake about it.

“Some people had to leave the club to free up spaces and to free up some money.

“Me and Steve Parish were taking a little bit of stick in terms of ‘do we know what we are doing?’ but I think in the end we always had a plan.

“I needed a player of that kind of ability to go by players on the outside, to create space for Williams, Moritz, Murray, Zaha and it would be another outlet for us.

“I think his contribution has not only been fantastic with his own personal game, but he has also released one or two other players and given them more space.”

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