Championship club to receive club-record fee from Crystal Palace for England U20 star


According to The Pitch Prospect, Crystal Palace have agreed a deal with Millwall for teenage winger Romain Esse.

The Eagles will pay around £14m for Esse, marking a new record sale for Championship club Millwall.

Esse will swap The Den for Selhurst Park

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Esse will swap The Den for Selhurst Park.

Newcastle, Brighton and Bournemouth have all been linked with a move for the highly-rated 19-year-old.

Esse came through the Lions’ youth system and made his senior debut as a late substitute on Boxing Day 2022 in a 2-0 win over Watford at the age of 17.

He was used 13 times in the 2022/23 season, never as a regular player.

The next season he started seven of his 27 appearances before making his breakthrough into the first team in the 2024/25 season.

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Esse can play in both midfield and on the wing and has scored four goals and assisted one in 24 Championship games this season.

The Englishman has also represented his country in the youth team and played 22 times for the Young Lions, most recently for the U20s.

Esse feels comfortable and confident on the ball and is always looking for forward momentum.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner needs a spark as they sit 15th in the Premier League and five points clear of relegation.

This is in stark contrast to last season’s finish, when they remained unbeaten in their last seven games.

With successful Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise, they defeated Aston Villa 5-0, dominated Manchester United 4-0 and even beat Liverpool.

Eze and Olise were a joy to watch under Glasner last season

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Eze and Olise were a joy to watch under Glasner last season.

They finished in tenth place and looked like they could achieve a better position this season.

However, Bayern Munich snapped up the £50.7million signing of Olise and the France international has been a major failure in south London ever since.

He contributed 16 goals and assists in 19 games for the Eagles last season and has already surpassed that tally with 18 in 23 games so far.

Former Watford player Ismaila Sarr was signed for £12.5m but failed to repeat Olise’s numbers.

The 26-year-old has scored four goals and provided two assists in 20 league games.

The fans hope that Esse can add more dynamism to their attack and bring joy to the spectators again.