Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell may be at risk of losing his place in the starting line-up because of poor form, according to The Athletic journalist Ed Malyon. 

The lowdown

The Eagles find themselves 15th in the Premier League table with just one win and six points from their first six matches. Mitchell has started all but one of those games, playing 63 minutes in the goalless draw against Newcastle United on Saturday before he was replaced by Nathaniel Clyne.

Clyne is primarily a right-back, but Palace lack an orthodox senior left-back to provide cover and competition for Mitchell.

One potential option for the Eagles is 18-year-old Tayo Adaramola, recently recalled by Palace from his loan spell at Coventry City.

The latest

Writing on The Athletic's matchday discussion board, Malyon said that opponents have been continually looking to target Mitchell.

He suggested that Vieira may now consider looking to Adaramola and taking the 23-year-old out of the firing line, writing: "Issues we saw reappear: Mitchell targeted and struggling (Clyne looked more solid to me, and I wonder if Adaramola gets a shot soon?)"

The verdict

Mitchell started the season in good form, registering an assist in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa last month and earning two 7+/10 SofaScore ratings in his first three matches. However, his average rating in the three games since has fallen to 6.3, and the statistics justify Malyon's concern.

Across those three matches, the left-back has won only two of the 10 duels that he contested and recorded a passing accuracy of just 65.7% (23 out of 35). Furthermore, he has been dribbled past three times and made a very limited impact going forward, failing to create a single chance.

Mitchell was excellent last term, hence his nomination for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award, but he is out of form right now.

Could Adaramola be the answer to this potential issue for Palace?

He has only made three senior appearances so far - two in last season's FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup last month for Coventry - but he should be knocking on the first-team door, as a Republic of Ireland under-21 international with 20 games of Premier League 2 experience under his belt (via Transfermarkt).

Patrick Vieira says that the teenager is 'so full of energy', while Eagles under-23 boss Paddy McCarthy admits that Adaramola 'can take your breath away' in 'full flow', and a former team-mate has called him 'lightning quick'.

Maybe these are qualities that Palace could utilise while giving Mitchell a breather in the wake of his diminishing form.