Premier League club make move to sign QPR, Sheffield United and Hull City transfer target | OneFootball

Southampton have joined the race to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, with the winger having been on the radar of Sheffield United, Hull and QPR previously.

Highlights

Southampton have joined the race to sign Crystal Palace’s Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, with the winger having previously been on the radar of a host of Championship clubs.

It has been claimed that Hull City, QPR, Sheffield United and Luton Town were all interested in Rak-Sakyi, who was expected to be able to leave Selhurst Park on loan this summer.

However, journalist Alan Nixon has now revealed that Southampton are keen on the 21-year-old, as Russell Martin looks to improve his squad following their promotion back to the Premier League.

Southampton join Jesurun Rak-Sakyi transfer chase

Naturally, that’s going to make it difficult for any side in the second tier, and the report indicates that whilst Southampton would prefer to loan Rak-Sakyi, the reality is that Palace may only be open to a permanent sale to a fellow top division side.

But, that may not put off Saints, as it’s thought that they would be open to making an offer to get a deal done, although it’s not clear what sort of fee would be required to make the move happen.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi facing key decision for his career

Rak-Sakyi spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Charlton Athletic in League One, and it was a move that paid off spectacularly for the player.

He scored 15 goals for the Addicks, as well as contributing eight assists, so it was a brilliant individual year for the player, who was emerging as the latest exciting youngster to be on Palace’s books.

After that loan spell, there were hopes that Rak-Sakyi could make his mark on the first-team last season, particularly as influential duo Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze missed chunks of the year due to injury.

But, Rak-Sakyi couldn’t nail down a place in the XI, as he made just six appearances for Palace, in a season that has halted his progress.

Therefore, he is approaching a critical time in his career, and the priority surely has to be regular game time for the youngster - and that may not come with Southampton.

With his deal at Selhurst Park running for another three years, Palace are not going to sell on the cheap, so there is a possibility that the Championship clubs could have a real chance at signing the player.

Of course, if Martin does offer assurances to Rak-Sakyi that he will be involved in the first-team squad, then that changes the dynamics considerably, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi could flourish in the Championship

The level of interest in Rak-Sakyi is no surprise, and you can imagine that the clubs linked with the winger will wait until the last minute to see if they can bring him in.

That’s because Rak-Sakyi is someone who has the ability to make his mark on the Championship this season.

His pace, dribbling ability and quality in the final third are why so many clubs are tracking Rak-Sakyi, and he could become a top player in the second tier if he delivers on his undoubted potential.