Crystal Palace have completed the signing of teenage Millwall winger Romain Esse on a five-and-a-half-year deal.
The 19-year-old Lions academy graduate, who has represented England at under-18, U19 and U20 levels, joins for a reported, external fee of £12m, potentially rising to £14.5m with add-ons.
Esse made his debut for Millwall as a 17-year-old on 26 January 2022. He has gone on to score seven goals in 66 appearances.
“Romain is the type of player who gets crowds off their seats – the type of player long associated with south London and Crystal Palace Football Club,” said Palace chairman Steve Parish, announcing the Eagles’ first signing of the January transfer window.
“Everyone at the club is looking forward to watching him shine on the pitch, and fulfil his exciting potential.”
Lambeth-born Esse has weighed in with five goals for Millwall this season, his last coming in a 2-1 defeat in the Championship at Norwich on Boxing Day.
Millwall manager Alex Neil left the youngster out of his side for Monday’s 3-0 FA Cup win over Dagenham & Redbridge and called for a resolution to Esse’s future amid the transfer speculation.
The deal was finally confirmed by Palace on Saturday after Esse completed a medical.
“I’m very excited to be here. It’s a good project and a good opportunity, so I just can’t wait to get started,” Esse told the Palace website., external
Oliver Glasner’s Palace, who play West Ham on Saturday (15:00 GMT), came into the weekend sitting 15th in the Premier League, having moved eight points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win at Leicester City in their last match.
