Richard Shaw sees a lot of Ian Wright in Palace's U23's Rob Street

The forward became a fan favourite at Selhurst Park between 1985 and 91 with his hunger, desire, and importantly his eye for goal, and it’s those qualities Shaw believes he’s discovered in youngster Rob Street.

Yet to mate a competitive start for the senior side, the 17-year-old has been impressing Shaw in the under-23 set-up enough to make the comparison with the former England international, most recently netting a brace for Shaw's side in a 5-1 demolition of Bolton Wanderers on Monday.

Similar to the now Arsenal legend, Street was not a product of an academy, but a player who learned their trade in amateur football, joining up with Palace in his later teens.

Wright, who scored 117 goals for the Eagles got given his chance by then Place manager Steve Coppell after impressing whilst on a trial from Greenwich Borough.

It’s the hunger Street shows that’s made Shaw make the lofty comparisons.

"I think that's exactly where his mentality has come from,” he said.

“He (Wright) was so desperate to succeed and missed out on academy football so he thought it's catch up time for me.

“I can only relate to Ian Wright because I saw it first-hand.

“I was lucky enough to be involved in the Palace academy and to watch the first training session Ian Wright had, when he was 21 on trial.

“He ripped the place apart and I remember sitting there as a kid, I was an apprentice at the time, watching him thinking that guy had so much hunger and desire.

"When I got in and around the first team environment, every single day.

“I remember he had me and John Salako coming in on days off to feed him balls to hit 500 balls into an empty net!

“I see it now with Rob.”

Lower League Desire

Despite working with the Palace Youth, Shaw believes that the route from academy to first team isn’t always the best way.

“I've been around a lot of academies and I've seen quite a lot and sometimes you get everything is done for you.

"They order boots and the boots turn up, you're not really fighting.

“You're there with your mates and you won't call each other out because we're all good friends but when you see guys from non-league and I watch quite a lot of non-league, it takes me out of my comfort zone.

“I'll go watch my local side Sheerwater Reserves on a pitch, dog rubbish everywhere, bins everywhere, their warm down is a fag and a pint of beer on the pitch but my god the desire.

“I would love to take my group to watch Sheerwater Reserves on a Saturday.

"But just listening to them talk and the sheer determination to win a game and do well is incredible.

“Academy guys can learn so much from that. The sheer 'this is what is takes, enjoying what you do' and the fact that they really want to make it rather than getting too much too soon where it normalises it."

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