Crystal Palace boss Hodgson delighted with 'dynamic' Lerma

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admits he's delighted with the early impact of Jefferson Lerma.

The midfielder arrived in the summer from Bournemouth.

Hodgson said, He's a very dynamic player. Whenever he plays, he changes the energy levels, like Cheick Doucour did when he came.

It's enabled us to play with two players in the Doucour position and that has helped us in many ways. It frees up one or two more of the attacking players, and in particular, it gives us extra cover which you sometimes need in the defensive area when you lose the ball. We're very happy with him. I think it was an excellent club signing.

Olise almost feels like a new signing now. Him and Jefferson Lerma, that's two very interesting signings, plus a young Brazilian who everyone speaks very highly of and who Doug [Freedman] speaks very highly of and is convinced has the potential to help us become a better team too, all of those things have given me heart today that we can look forward to another decent season at Crystal Palace."