After a breakout first season in English football, Jaydee Canvot is relishing the chance to get going again when Palace travel to Everton this afternoon.
The 20-year-old is anticipating another big campaign for the Eagles, telling Premier League Productions: “Because we won the trophy, I feel the sensation that I want to win another trophy – so I hope we can win again a trophy, and make it back to back to back.
“We’ll play for this. Me, I play for this. And I think everyone, every player here, is here to win a trophy this year.”
In life, when you have an opportunity, you have to take it
—Jaydee Canvot
Canvot is taking on the No. 6 shirt this season, and revealed it was a change inspired by his former teammate and occupant of the number: “When Marc [Guéhi] left, he came to me and said: ‘Take the No. 6!’
“He just gave me the idea…. And then I didn't take the No. 6! And then we played against Man City, and he came up to me again to me and said: ‘Take the No. 6.’ So I asked for the number after the Conference League Final, and got it.
“When Marc left, there was a bit of space [in the team]. Marc was a legend of the club. When he was here, I learned a lot from him. When he was gone, that was my turn.
“I just play the way I play. I play good, and we won a trophy. I'm happy, I'm proud of me. I was 19, now I'm 20. I'm still young, but I have more to improve and more to show. That was the past, and now it's the present. The present is more important than everything.
“I'm not a nervous person in life, or a stressed person. I'm chill. For me, in life, when you have an opportunity, you have to take it.”
The defender will hope to have the opportunity to start Pierre Sage’s first Premier League game in charge of the club, away at Everton this afternoon.
The Frenchman said of the new Palace Manager: “It's easier for me – he's French, so I can speak with him more fluently! It's a new era for him, for us, for the team. I’m happy.
“I think the first message he said to the group was that the team is more important than the player, so we could understand quickly what he wants.
“We have a lot of players who are versatile. I think we've got a lot of games now. Last season we had 60 games and I think this season will be more or less the same, so we need players who can play every position. We need to be competitive everywhere.
“The Premier League, the Carbao Cup, the FA Cup, the Europa League now… I think it's going to help us a lot this season.
“[Under Sage] we have to run a lot, sprint, to be intense and just give everything we have. If you're tired, you just have to say, ‘I'm cool, just let me breathe’ – and we change. We've got a lot of good players, so if one player is not there, we can change with another player and it's going to be the same level.
“I think it's going to be a great season. I hope so. I feel good.”
Having signed from Toulouse last summer, the France Under-21 international – by his own admission – erred in a handful of his early Palace appearances, but bounced back to start 19 of the Eagles’ last 20 matches as they ended the season with European silverware.
And having turned 20-years-old over the summer, Canvot says it was his determination to adapt to English football – and the help of the characters around him – who spurred him on to recover and finish the season so impressively.
“It was tough – Larnaca, the mistake,” Canvot recalled of an early defeat in his Palace career. “Arsenal, I had a bad game. Chelsea, I did a mistake again.
“But for me, in life, you do mistakes, you do bad things, good things, but to show if you're strong, you have a good mindset, you have good mentality, you come back and train and work hard and be a good footballer. For me, that's the most important thing.
“Everyone [helped me]. I remember against Chelsea, when I did the bad game, Dean, the captain, just gave me a message on my phone that touched me a lot. He said: ‘Look, brother, it's OK. You made a mistake. I know. It's going to be in the past. In a few months, you're going to see. You’re going to be good.’
“Everyone helped me a lot. The players, the staff, JP Mateta, Maxence [Lacroix] when he was there. T Mitchell, Eddie Nketiah, Dean, Will [Hughes], Daichi [Kamada]… I can't say everyone! I think we've got a good club and without ego, I think it's good. We are like a family here.
“I made mistakes. I was young. I'm going to make mistakes again. But at the end, the most important thing is just to get stronger, come back stronger and show nothing can stop me. That's it. That's the way I think.
“You have to be confident in life, and more so in the Premier League because that's the best league in the world. If you're not confident, you're going to play against Liverpool and then at Arsenal, you're going to be sad or cry!
“No, you have to play – and be the best person you can be.”