Frank Lampard urged against Coventry City, Crystal Palace transfer agreement | OneFootball

Coventry City and Frank Lampard have been warned not to complete a signing from Crystal Palace this summer, with Premier League alternatives eyed...

Romain Esse joined Coventry City on loan from Crystal Palace in January, with Frank Lampard looking to bolster his wide options for the remainder of the 2025/26 Championship season.

With only two specialist wingers heading into January, Coventry City added both Romain Esse and Yang Min-hyeok arriving on loan from the Premier League. They also bolstered their ranks with some more steel in midfield through Frank Onyeka.

They look likely to be the missing pieces required, with Coventry well-placed to return to the Premier League after over 20 years away. However, the impact of each player has been vastly different.

The Spurs loanee has featured just four times, including one start. Onyeka had to work his way into the team but is now a vital cog in midfield, while Esse started well but has since faded.

In his 11 appearances, he has registered two goal involvements. That came from six starts, but he has started just once in Coventry's last seven Championship games and been an unused substitute in two of those fixtures as well.

What's gone wrong for Crystal Palace loanee Romain Esse at Coventry City

FLW asked our Coventry fan pundit Chris for his thoughts on the situation and whether he could become a pemanent player in the summer if/when Premier League promotion is confirmed? Or if Cov should be looking at more proven top flight wingers to bolster their squad instead?

Speaking about what's gone wrong for the 20-year-old, he said: "Sadly, I think the Esse experiment has failed a little bit. It's probably time to look elsewhere.

"He came in and it was a really exciting signing. We had only heard good things from Palace fans and Millwall fans; they loved him. When he first came in, his first four or five appearances looked really promising.

"He was scoring and getting assists and he looked a real quality player. He obviously has that bit of flair about him and that's not something we've seen much of in years at Cov.

"So everything looked really promising for him and then he just, sort of, fell off really quickly. It became quite apparent that he's a bit of a show pony. When he pulls off those bits of skill and flair, it looks incredible.

"And you think, 'Oh my God, wow, this is what we have always needed at Cov'. But it's rare that he pulls them off. He attempts things at the wrong times when he should be thinking about playing more as part of a team, rather than as an individual.

"I think he just wants the attention on him a little bit. He wants the cameras pointed at him at all times. There is obviously a talented player in there. We saw that in that first month or so. I don't know what kind of manager he needs and I don't know who that could be.

"But he just needs somebody to put an arm round him and say, 'Look, mate, you're here to help a club get promoted who were last in the Premier League 25 years ago. It's not about you, it's about the team'.

"You don't see anybody else in that squad playing as individuals. They all play as part of a unit, part of a family, part of a group."

Romain Esse's future at Crystal Palace and Coventry City's next steps

Chris then provided his thoughts on what happens next for Esse and for Coventry as well, stating: "I wish the lad all the best. I think he'll end up as another loan next season.

"I don't want us to be signing him. Palace, I imagine, will be wanting anywhere between £15 million and £20 million for him. I think they paid between £12-15 million themselves from Millwall.

"So they're not going to be wanting to make a loss on him when they've lost most of their best players in the last two seasons. We definitely need to be looking at more experience out wide.

"I want [Tatsuhiro] Sakamoto to play every game for us for the rest of his life, but that's just not going to happen. I can't see him being a Premier League regular and a starter every week.

"The same can probably be said of [Ephron] Mason-Clark as well. Both great players but they're probably going to play bit-part roles and cameos for us next season — if we go up.

"But, obviously, a lot of it comes down to money. Who are we going to sign that's a Premier League experienced winger that is also willing to come down to Coventry on maybe, if they are lucky, £40,000 or £50,000 per week?

"With the increased wage bill when we go up, it's going to be a very delicate one and interesting one to balance. So we'll see how we weigh up every one of our options.