Crystal Palace are hoping to sign Romain Esse from Millwall in the January transfer window.
Dougie Freedman is keen to find a new winger in a similar mould to Michael Olise to provide balance to Oliver Glasner’s attack, which has looked pretty clunky so far this season with only eight goals scored in ten Premier League outings.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
It was the reliable Alan Nixon who claimed that Crystal Palace will make a move for Esse in January after a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign.
However, Crystal Palace may find negotiations with the Lions difficult after what happened on Wednesday night.
Millwall might dig heels in over Romain Esse after 1-0 win vs Leeds United
Millwall moved up to fifth in the Championship after impressively recording a 1-0 win over Leeds United at The Den on Wednesday night.
A goal from Japhet Tanganga – who memorably clashed with Wilfried Zaha when playing for Tottenham in the 2021/22 campaign – has given Millwall hopes of promotion to the Premier League, which we feel could cause implications during negotiations.
Esse is a difference maker for Neil Harris, and should the 19-year-old depart in January, it would undoubtedly see Millwall’s promotion chances take a huge hit.
Therefore, with the Lions now sitting fifth – six points off an automatic promotion slot – they could either tell Freedman to forget about signing the England U19 international, or at least demand an inflated fee.
Crystal Palace could replicate Manchester United signing of Wilfried Zaha
Manchester United fans may have been thinking in a similar way to us back in the 2012/13 campaign, as Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign Wilfried Zaha while we were firmly in with a shot at promotion.
As you will recall, the Red Devils eventually agreed a £15m deal which saw Zaha rejoin us on loan to see out that 2012/13 season, an agreement which was absolutely crucial to securing promotion under Ian Holloway.
Ideally, Esse would join us immediately and contribute to what will hopefully be a much improved second half of the season, but with Millwall sitting fifth, we may have to accept a summer arrival instead for the talented teenager – if an agreement can be struck at all.
