Millwall should have one eye on Romain Esse, Crystal Palace developments | OneFootball

Romain Esse isn't making much of an impact at Crystal Palace, and Oliver Glasner may sanction a January loan

Crystal Palace have a strong track record of plucking exciting wingers out of the Championship and seeing their development skyrocket.

However, whilst Romain Esse hasn't yet passed a year at Selhurst Park, the signs of him emerging as the next Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, or even, to an extent, Wilfried Zaha, seem quite far away.

The Eagles splashed £12 million on the 20-year-old in January to sign him from their South London rivals Millwall, and despite taking just 25 seconds in his Premier League debut to net his first top-flight goal against Brentford, chances since then have been extremely limited.

Just six more Premier League appearances followed his debut last season, being left on the bench on eight occasions, alongside that, and so far this campaign, he's played a little over an hour of action in all competitions through the first month.

45 of those minutes came in Palace's recent penalty victory in the EFL Cup against Millwall, but Esse didn't have a great game against his former side, being hooked at half-time by Oliver Glasner, who was visibly frustrated with his play at times during the first half.

It hasn't quite worked out so far for the England U21 international, and whilst it's good to remain patient about these things, a loan move in January to remain playing regularly could be on the cards, and if so, Millwall may be the perfect place for him to return to.

Romain Esse could benefit from a loan move back to Millwall

So far, Esse has been on the fringes of the action at Selhurst Park since his arrival, and for someone who has as much potential as the 20-year-old, he likely needs to be playing a little more regularly.

Given the sheer quality in the ranks of the current FA Cup holders, it's difficult to see Esse breaking into the Palace side. He didn't even feature in their Conference League play-off games against Fredrikstad. Therefore, a short-term move back to the Championship, and back to Millwall especially, would benefit both parties.

The winger spent his youth career at the Den before breaking into the first team as a 17-year-old in the 2022/23 campaign. After being an impact player once more during the 2023/24 term, last season, he truly came into his own, starting 24 Championship games before his January switch to the Premier League.

If Esse were to spend a short-term spell anywhere, Millwall would be ideal, as he'd already know his surroundings and it wouldn't take him long to settle in. Plus, he could provide that mid-season attacking spark that most sides on the outskirts of the play-offs tend to need to make that final push for the top six.

Millwall fans may need to swallow some pride if a deal were to be made, as they were happy to jeer their former prodigy in their cup bout, but if the 20-year-old helped the Lions find their way into the play-offs, all of that would be easily forgotten.

Oliver Glasner's demands could light a fire under Romain Esse

Evidently, it's not been a great nine months for Esse in a Palace shirt, with his withdrawal at half-time reminiscent of the embarrassment caused when he was subbed off 20 minutes after being brought on as a sub towards the back end of last season against Liverpool.

After the Millwall game, Oliver Glasner's response to Esse's performance was straight to the point: "If I have a feeling that a player can help the team win a game, he will get many minutes. If I have a feeling a player does not, then he does not get any minutes.

"It's up to him. He's a nice guy and I like him as a person, but I'm no priest. I'm not getting paid to be a nice person; I'm getting paid to win games. It's up to the player to improve."

The guard has been laid down for the 20-year-old to improve, and those words may induce a positive reaction from the former Millwall winger.