Charlton Athletic struck Crystal Palace transfer gold where Sheffield United didn’t | OneFootball

Sheffield United didn't get the best out of the Crystal Palace ace but Charlton Athletic did, but will Stoke City be next?

There was a moment during Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s loan spell at Charlton Athletic when it felt like Crystal Palace had pulled off something quietly special but that was somewhat undone in his stint at Sheffield United.

Rak-Sakyi was not just a promising academy graduate getting minutes, but a genuine match-winner lighting up League One with a confidence and freedom that said he was ready for more and that next step up to the division above. For Charlton supporters, it was a joyride of a campaign.

For Palace, it looked like they had a special talent on their hands, providing he could be nurtured correctly. Fast-forward to his step-up with Sheffield United, though, and that sense of inevitability around Rak-Sakyi’s rise dulled. It's not vanished entirely, but softened after the Bramall Lane stint.

Despite featuring in a Blades side competing at the sharp end of the Championship in 2024/25 under Chris Wilder, he never quite recaptured the electricity that defined his spell at The Valley in 2022/23. He now has an opportunity to get things back on track in 2026...

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's excellence with Charlton and inconsistency with Sheffield United

At Charlton, Rak-Sakyi was given the keys. Deployed primarily off the right but drifting wherever the danger was greatest, he played like a footballer with freedom to do damage on his stronger left foot. His skill-set was perfectly suited to League One chaos: explosive acceleration, close control at speed, and a knack for riding tackles that left full-backs backing off.

He wasn’t just a dribbler, either. His shooting from range and different angles, particularly when cutting inside onto his stronger foot, added a layer of end product that elevated him above the “exciting loanee” bracket — and sparked off two seasons of Championship intrigue in the youngster.

What really stood out was his bravery at such a tender age. Rak-Sakyi wanted the ball in tight spaces and wanted to be the key man for the Addicks. He demanded it after mistakes. He tried things other more experienced teammates wouldn’t. In a Charlton side crying out for creativity, he became the focal point almost by default.

The numbers followed. Goals, assists, crucial match-winning moments — he had all three, and he had them consistently for a mid-table side. That context matters because Sheffield United was a very different environment.

Wilder’s Blades in 2024/25 were expected to compete for automatic promotion. They were built on structure, physicality, and his sides always had a relentless efficiency. They carried loans that season but it was more of a promotion-chasing machine, not a development lab for young talent.

Rak-Sakyi simply had to hit the ground running but instead found himself rotated, repositioned and, at times, restrained by the demands of Championship football. The space he thrived in at League One level evaporated quicker: defenders were sharper, presses were coordinated, mistakes were punished, and the Blades had to find ways to unlock it.

To his credit, Rak-Sakyi didn’t look out of place. His work-rate improved, his off-ball discipline became more apparent, and flashes of quality still surfaced. But flashes were all they were. The sustained influence that defined his Charlton loan never truly arrived and Gus Hamer and co. overshadowed him with regularity in a creative sense.

That’s not to say Sheffield United “failed” with him in isolation. Many talented attackers have struggled to fully impose themselves under Wilder unless they perfectly match his system. But when contrasted with the freedom and productivity of Rak-Sakyi’s Charlton spell, the difference is stark. One felt like a platform and the other felt like a holding pattern.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's Stoke City loan from Crystal Palace

Now, heading towards 2026, that holding pattern is the concern. Rak-Sakyi is still young, still immensely talented, but football has a habit of waiting for no one, in spite of the idea that development simply isn't linear.

Another loan move has arrived, and this one feels pivotal in the Championship. It has to be the spell that reasserts who he is as a player, not just what he can fit into. At 23, Rak-Sakyi is at a crucial juncture and this next move must simply go well for him.

The raw materials and the key attributes remain enticing: direct running, ball-carrying through midfield lines, a natural eye for goal, and the versatility to play across the front line. What he needs next is an environment that trusts those instincts again.

The 23-year-old needs a team willing to let him fail, learn, and ultimately lead, with Charlton showing what happens when everything clicks. Could that be Mark Robins' Stoke after a Deadline Day switch for Rak-Sakyi?

Sheffield United showed how easily momentum can stall at the next level. This next chapter with Stoke until the end of 2025/26 will determine which version of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi becomes the rule rather than the exception.