Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland on Saturday.
Robin Roefs pulled off a number of heroic saves to frustrate the Eagles at Selhurst Park, as Oliver Glasner watched his side record a third draw from four Premier League outings so far this season.
The Austrian was surely pleased to see Crystal Palace push for a late winner, but his decision to ignore Romain Esse as the hunt for a goal went on spoke volumes.
Early signs suggest Romain Esse would have benefitted from a loan move
After seven games across all competitions, Glasner has now left the England U21 international on the bench six times.
Esse has only been afforded 24 minutes of action so far this season, which all came in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, and a lively attacker like the Londoner would have surely given Sunderland a headache in the final stages of Saturday’s stalemate.
Therefore, the fact Glasner once again overlooked him strongly suggests those on the recruitment team should have looked to find a loan move for the 20-year-old, who has hardly featured since his £12m move from Millwall in January.
Romain Esse in action for Crystal Palace during a Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest
Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images
Ismaila Sarr was also absent for the draw against Sunderland, so Esse’s chances of featuring will presumably be even slimmer once the Senegal international returns.
The Lambeth-born winger has made just ten appearances in total for Crystal Palace since arriving, all of which amount to a total of 213 minutes.
Of course, the UEFA Conference League creates a demanding schedule for Glasner to juggle, so chances will hopefully come for the Crystal Palace No.21 as the season goes on – but the early signs are certainly a concern.
Crystal Palace must learn from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi treatment
Unless Glasner starts to give Esse some minutes, he runs the risk of allowing the winger to fade out of the picture just as Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has.
The 22-year-old was hot property after scoring 15 goals in 43 League One appearances while on loan at Charlton in the 2022/23 campaign.
Crystal Palace even received £15m bids for Rak-Sakyi, but ended up sending the England U21 international on a loan to Sheffield United which did not prove to be fruitful.
Despite interest from the likes of Rangers, Leicester and Southampton in the summer transfer window just gone, the Eagles then failed to find the Crystal Palace No.49 a loan move whatsoever before the Monday 1st September deadline in England.
The Turkish window remained open, however, and Caykur Rizespor have now signed Rak-Sakyi on loan, a disappointing move for a top talent in a fairly undemanding division.
Hopefully, Esse does not end up taking the same path.