Should Haji Wright join Brentford or Crystal Palace?
USMT forward Haji Wright has two Premier League options but will he choose Brentford or Crystal Palace?
Haji Wright has been on form for Turkish side Antalyaspor this season, scoring ten goals in 16 Süper Lig matches. His performances have come to the attention of Premier League sides, who are interested in his services.
Tom Bogert has revealed that “Brentford make an offer to Antalyaspor for USMNT forward Haji Wright. Brentford, Crystal Palace and others are clubs reportedly interested.”
Wright scored one goal for the United States at the World Cup. It was a somewhat flukey goal against the Netherlands in their round of 16 defeat, but the forward has made his mark and a move to English football would be a step in the right direction for the player.
Brentford or Palace?
Brentford is flying in the division, they are unbeaten in their last six games and currently lying in ninth place in the division. A move to a club with their success of late would be very tempting for Wright.
At the Bees, he would be competing for a starting place with Ivan Toney. Whilst he would be great competition for the England forward, Wright may feel that he would be playing second fiddle to Toney.
Crystal Palace is another of Wight’s suitors, who are only three places behind Brentford in the league. With the form that Wright is on, he would fancy his chances for a starting place ahead of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Odsonne Edouard and Jordan Ayew.
Wright must choose his next destination wisely and with Brentford already putting in an offer for him, heading to West London may be his best bet.
Wright’s career so far
Wright started his career with the New York Cosmos but only made four senior appearances for the club before heading to Germany to join Schalke 04.
At Schalke, he performed well for their reserve team but failed to make an impact for the first team and was loaned out to SV Sandhausen.
He eventually got a permanent move from Schalke to the Dutch side VVV-Venlo. However, this move did not work out as he did not score in 22 league games.
Wright’s next destination was to join SønderjyskE in Denmark where he started to his some form. He scored 13 times in 37 games for the club before heading to Turkey to join Antalyaspor.
He has so far scored 26 times in 52 games for the club and it is about time for the 24-year-old to test himself again in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Why does he and the USA need this move?
At the World Cup, there was a lot of criticism of the USMNT not having an out-and-out number nine. With the USA co-hosting the tournament in 2026, Wright will be 28 then and will hopefully be in the prime of his career.
Wright came under a lot of criticism for his inclusion in Gregg Berhalter’s side in Qatar. Alexi Lalas told Fox Sports, “I do not understand how Haji Wright is going to the World Cup over (Ricardo) Pepi, over (Jordan) Pefok.”
If Wright is to be a success for Brentford or Palace in the Premier League, then no one will doubt that he is the man to lead the line for the US.