Two good punts so far. We have been crying out for cover on the wings.
Esse: Millwall say he moved too soon and needed another season in the Championship. Welcome to the modern world of PL clubs loaded with money. Crystal Palace did not want to miss out. How many of our Academy players have been lured away only to completely disappear among massive squads, never to be seen again?
Esse may be one we buy, if we get promoted, assuming we can get his career back on track.
Apparently, he tracks back well to add additional cover.
Yang: Thought of very highly at Spurs. Still young but was a star in Korea.
Be interesting to see how well they both will do in a more attacking side, rather than sides where defending is more emphasised.
To be fair to Esse, Palace have a pretty good track record with getting players from the Champ and playing them immediately. Eze, Oliseh and Wharton all did and they made good money from Eze and Oliseh (with Wharton probably next).
And there you go, look at only the stats and ignore the other stuff. He has been an integral part of a team that sits 6pts clear in the league. The only stat I need, that and seeing him terrifying fullbacks
He doesn’t terrify defenders… he’s had 11 successful dribbles all season which is well below MVE, Rudoni, EMC and JDS. It’s slightly above average for championship wingers.
He’s good at chance creation, a solid top 22% in the league (much improved on 24/25) whereas EMC is in the top 7% for wingers and AMs.
In reality, all the metrics show he’s above average, which is good, the team just needs better.
They're not co-dependent, no. And of course if you get a better player, and they fit the system, then you improve the team.
They're a great partnership, but that doesn't mean you can't improve on it. And Sakamoto's not a weak link, but that's not the same as saying he (or anyone else) can't be improved on.
Well, if your RB, LB and AM are all dribbling past more players than a winger, it’s not a good sign. Less touches in the box and less crosses attempted. Similarly, our two CBs have more shots than said winger (Thomas even outscored Sakamoto last season).
Credit where it’s due, he’s our most accurate crosser but lower volume than Rudoni, EMC and MVE also.
Esse will come in and show exactly what the team looks like with a top end player in the RW slot.
Going by Esse's fee moving from Millwall to Palace, he must be one of the most valuable players we've had on our books (based on value at the point they were with us, so not counting C Wilson or Maddison, for example)?
Gus, Vik & Robbie Keane jump out as the only others that are comparable, plus whatever values you might put on the current squad- Rushworth must be well north of 10 mill now.
Going by Esse's fee moving from Millwall to Palace, he must be one of the most valuable players we've had on our books (based on value at the point they were with us, so not counting C Wilson or Maddison, for example)?
Gus, Vik & Robbie Keane jump out as the only others that are comparable, plus whatever values you might put on the current squad- Rushworth must be well north of 10 mill now.