TRISTAN Crama already has the feel of a potential Millwall cult hero about him.
Something about the way the 6ft4ins defender with the “beautiful movie star looks” has thrown himself into the right-back role. The runs down the wing with wild abandon, the “long luscious hair” flowing behind him.
Crama is a centre-back who has been pressed into action at right-back for the Lions after injuries to Ryan Leonard and Danny McNamara. Crama had rarely played there before in his professional career.
Crama was outstanding in the centre of Exeter City’s defence in the first half of the League One season. He scored four goals in 25 starts, including the only one to beat Charlton Athletic in the league last November.
The match report on the BBC ran: “The on-loan Brentford defender, who turned 23 on Friday, was outstanding in keeping the Addicks at bay and then scored the only goal of the game with a superb header to settle an even contest between the two promotion hopefuls.”
Crama has an impressive attacking output for Millwall, registering two assists in nine starts, one more than Leonard and two more than McNamara this season.
In his ten appearances so far after his move from Brentford in January for an undisclosed fee on a long-term deal, Millwall have lost only two games.
At just 23 and with those physical and technical attributes, it appears the Lions have pulled off a bit of a coup in signing Crama.
Crama was born in Beziers in the Occitanie region in south-east France in November 2001. Beziers is more of a rugby town but despite physical characteristics suited to the sport, Crama joined the local football club.
Crama made five appearances for the first team in the third tier before he was identified by one of the best scouting networks in English football.
In 2020, Crama flew over with his family and his agent to meet his new employers, Brentford.
Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane tells NewsAtDen what was said at that meeting, essentially forecasting his route from the Brentford Community Stadium to The Den.
“We delivered what we felt were the steps of the pathway that we felt could take Tristan on in his career, relayed to him exactly what the B team project was all about, and that the games programme, which we believe in massively, would help prepare Tristan and all the players for hopefully breaking through to our first team. And if not breaking through to our first team, having that little spell out on loan to see where the next step goes,” MacFarlane says. “Then if it’s still not with our first team, then the opportunity to go out and do exactly as he’s done now, get a permanent move to a fantastic club.”
Crama spent two years in the B team before signing a new two-year deal with the option of a third. The Bees continued to manage his development carefully as first-team boss Thomas Frank included him in his squad during the 2022-23 season.
Despite still not making his competitive first-team debut, Crama was given a three year contract with the option of another year in the summer of 2023. That July, Brentford decided it was time to send the 21-year-old out on loan, and he joined League One Bristol Rovers.
“I think it’s well known our recruitment is second to none,” MacFarlane says. “The diligence and the work that goes in from the team is incredible and it’s enabled us to bring in many, many young good talents into the B team and also into the first team immediately as well.
“We believed that Tristan had one massive outstanding attribute, which was pace. That has not disappointed us by any stretch of imagination – he has been magnificent in that respect. We identified areas where we could improve Tristan technically as well. When he came, we worked really, really hard with Tristan around his feet and tried to improve him in that respect – because in the modern game there’s a lot of build-up that’s required of defenders – but not negating the main things that defenders that have to do – defend the moments, defend properly. He has, as I said, an unbelievable attribute in pace to get him out of a lot of situations, but we also try to work on situations where pace won’t get you out of everything, the higher the levels you go. And he really bought into it.”
Millwall fans have seen those attributes, including his technical ability which he demonstrated with his brilliant cross for Josh Coburn’s winner at Watford.
MacFarlane adds: “He’s an amazing young man, really grounded, really wants to keep improving and taking his career forward. He was an absolute pleasure to coach within the B team. He just grew every single month and every single year and it culminated in that period where he was playing with us when we won the Premier League Cup [in 2022-23].”
It wasn’t only on the training pitch where Crama was challenged. Off it, there was one crucial thing he had to do in order to receive absorb specific tactical messages in training.
“I mentioned about the recruitment being so good at the football club,” MacFarlane says. “We really, really delve into all aspects. Over the years I’ve been doing this and for Brentford as a whole, they sign many international players and many foreign players and one of the first things we have to do is get them English lessons, which we did with Tristan.
“It takes time. He had a little bit of English at the start, which was enough to get him up and running, more so than some others. But he obviously bought into it as well, off the pitch doing the lessons and improving his English and you could see that improvement as he went through the months.”
Tristan Crama in action against Luton Town on January 25, 2025. Image: Millwall FC
Crama made 34 appearances in all competitions in his season at Bristol Rovers, starting 22 league games.
The Gas finished fifteenth, and for the 2024-25 season Brentford sent him on loan to Exeter City, who had finished two places higher. Brentford included a recall clause to have the option to move him to a club higher in the pyramid if he impressed.
That was a wise move.
Crama became a fan favourite at St James Park. He made 26 appearances, helping the side to nine clean sheets. His four goals – against Northampton Town, Charlton, Chesterfield and Wycombe Wanderers – were all headers.
Grecians manager Gary Caldwell’s words after he was recalled tell in how high an esteem Crama was held at the club.
“Whilst we are disappointed to be losing a player of Tristan’s ability and character, we are delighted in how he has progressed and developed in his time with us,” Caldwell said on Exeter’s website.
“Tristan is not only a fantastic defender, but is also a hugely popular player in the dressing room.
“I have no doubt that Tristan will go on to have a fantastic career – and I’m glad that we have played a part in that.”
Daniel Clark reports on Exeter for Devon Live.
“Over the summer, Gary Caldwell had said once we signed him that he was the number one target that he wanted,” Clark tells NewsAtDen. “So obviously he rated him incredibly highly and was delighted to get the deal done.
“You could kind of tell almost straightaway that the guy was too good for League One level. Particularly he just looked so calm, composed at the back with the ball at his feet, but also, he was really physical and strong and would win those headers, make those blocks and just look the level above where we were. Him going was a huge blow.”
Crama’s set-piece nous stood out.
“We had some quality deliveries being whipped into the box for him, but he was able to get above his man, able to find just a little pocket of space to win the header and when he got those headers he hit the target,” Clark says.
“He looked pretty calm and composed on the ball, able to play out from the back. He’s not an old-school centre-half in the sense that he lumps it long. He can pick passes or go on the occasional driving run up the field. Particularly when you’re in a side that plays out from the back, he’s useful. Then he has the pace to cover in behind and do the running for some of the other defenders if needs be as well.
“You had that horrible feeling that the more he was doing particularly well, the more likely it was that someone was going to come in and put a bid in for him, that Exeter were not going to have a chance of matching.”
Crama’s impact as a right-back for Millwall is even more impressive when you hear Clark describing his experiences at Exeter.
“He played pretty much every single game bar one as the central centre-back of a back three,” Clark says. “The one game he played the right of the back three, he played there for half an hour and looked absolutely atrocious. Then they switched it and he went back to the centre and looked much more solid again.
“I guess a player can just kind of have a bad half an hour where it doesn’t work for whatever reason, or the guy he’s up against is just a little bit quicker or a little bit trickier than him. But he never really played as a right-back and it’s a slight surprise seeing him playing there. But needs must. He would’ve had the skills to play on the right side of the back three in our system, just that the one game he did, it went horribly wrong.
“But there’s nothing in his game to think he couldn’t have done it, couldn’t have made that step up. He’s got the passing ability, he’s got the pace, he’s got the aerial ability to deal with the kind of threats you get at that level.”
Clark adds: “Being French, obviously English was his second language and I don’t think he came across as the most confident person in front of the camera. But that could just be certain players are like that. He seemed fairly confident and assured in his game.
“Gary Caldwell used to joke that he’s got his long luscious hair and beautiful movie star looks: ‘By the time he’s done he’ll look like me, the heading and the knocks he’ll get in the face, the challenges. He looks too good – we’ll knock that out of him!’”
Millwall identified Crama as fitting in with their strategy of signing young players who could make a first-team impact and also have the potential to gain value. MacFarlane knows Lions boss Alex Neil and assistant Martin Canning. The pair spoke to MacFarlane who gave a glowing reference and highlighted where Crama could improve.
Crama’s value has no doubt already shot up. But there is one area he has still yet to contribute: scoring goals.
“I mentioned his pace, his pace is undoubted, but I also have a big belief in him that he is a massive threat on set-plays as well,” MacFarlane says. ”Again, like all players, there’s development in him to come. But he’s got a lot of really good tools to continue to be a really good defender.”
MacFarlane also thinks Crama is a potential future captain.
He says: “I think on the pitch, just in the way he was in the successful side that won the Premier League Cup – his goal against Fulham in the semi-final was from a set-play with an unbelievable header – in that particular game, he showed the attributes in and out of possession with his speed, his willingness to defend and his willingness to grow as a leader within the group.
“Off the pitch, hopefully one day he can go on to be a captain as well. As his English improved through the period of time and working with us, and knowing our standards and demands that we place on the players, he became more and more of a leader. There were certain occasions where he would come and speak openly to the staff about certain situations that we could help him to improve on. He wanted to keep continuously taking his game to the next level, which I liked about him, because he wants to keep improving.
“I think that over the last couple of years, performing so well in a successful side in the B team, going on to the trajectory of working with Bristol and Exeter and now with Millwall, he’s in a really, really good place and I think he’s at a really top football club as well.
“So it should be hugely exciting for him at the moment. Then also what’s important is that he’s started well. That’s important when you go in as a young player. He got man of the match against Luton.
“It’s really pleasing to see, and from a team perspective Millwall are on a good trajectory at the moment and hopefully that can continue.”