Why Crystal Palace signed Romain Esse, the exciting talent with star potential

Romain Esse could get away with leaving his house in Beckenham five minutes before Crystal Palace training and still make it to Copers Cope Road in time.

It is, however, unlikely the 19-year-old forward will cut it so fine after his £14.5million switch from Millwall.

His move across south London offers Esse a platform to showcase his undeniable talent on a bigger stage, so he ought to be one of the first ones in and absolutely champing at the bit.

The new Palace signing lives so close to their training ground that manager Oliver Glasner quipped in his press conference on Saturday that was the real reason the Eagles had bought him. “It’s sustainability!” he said. “He doesn’t need a car. He can walk tomorrow”

Whenever he decides to arrive each morning, it feels as though Esse has joined Palace at just the right time for both him and the club.

Lambeth-born Esse made his professional debut for Millwall at 17, and in the two years since has demonstrated an ability to beat full-backs and score goals.

Other teams were keen on him, but what better Premier League club to entrust with his career development than Palace?

The Eagles boast a proven track record of signing promising players from the Championship and moulding them into something a whole lot greater.

Think Adam Wharton (signed from Blackburn; now an England international), Eberechi Eze (signed from QPR; now an England international and Palace’s best player), Michael Olise (signed from Reading; now a France international starring for Bayern Munich).

That is not to pile premature and undue pressure on Esse, still a teenager and only just through the door. But there is a pathway for him at Selhurst Park. There is a reason Palace met his £12m release clause in a deal worth £14.5m with add-ons.

“Romain is the type of player who gets crowds off their seat,” said chairman Steve Parish, while Esse himself used the same phrase to describe his own playing style.

From Palace’s point of view, Esse becomes, as Glasner put it, “one more option in attack”.

Palace curiously allowed Odsonne Edouard (loan) and Jordan Ayew (permanent) to join Leicester and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (loan) to join Sheffield United last summer, while also losing Olise to Bayern for £51m.

That windfall has yet to be properly reinvested in the squad.

Eddie Nketiah (£25m from Arsenal), Ismaila Sarr (12.7m from Marseille) and Daichi Kamada (free agent) were the summer’s attacking recruits, yet Palace found themselves in the relegation zone in the first three months of the season with a feeble-looking forward-line undoubtedly thin on the ground in terms of numbers.

At the very least, the new Palace No21 will begin by offering an accomplished attacking option off the bench.

Playing as an inverted attacking midfielder in the 3-4-2-1 will mark a departure from the wider positions he occupied for Millwall. Yet only one player, Norwich’s Borja Sainz, has been more successful at one-on-one take-ons this season in the Championship - reminiscent of Eze and Olise in style, then. His challenge as a left-footer is to oust the right-footed and in-form Sarr from Glasner’s team.

A capable crosser with no history of serious injuries, Esse was watched from the stands by Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman on multiple occasions this season.

The Palace scouting department had long been tracking him, and talk in December over a January approach revolved around sending the teenager back on loan to Millwall to see out the season.

In the end, whether because other targets (e.g. Ben Doak) were unavailable or simply because of a change in tack, Palace instead insisted that Esse join immediately. Millwall stopped playing him, and Palace, by Friday, had him in for a medical.

Glasner let slip on Saturday that the deal took longer than it might have, while Esse, upon signing, said: “It’s been a long process, but I’m just happy now it’s done.” Delay or not, the hard work starts now for the England youth international.

With five goals and an assist to his name already this season, now comes the challenge of transferring his burgeoning Championship form to the Premier League. He could make his debut as early as Sunday, in a London derby against Brentford.

“I can’t wait to put a smile on Palace fans’ faces when I’m playing,” Esse said with a beaming smile in his first interview following the move.

“The next step in my development is very crucial. I thought this would be the best place.”