Forget Ben Doak, Crystal Palace must heed old Neil Harris message and prioritise Millwall transfer

Crystal Palace have become the club to aim at for rising EFL targets looking to make the move to the Premier League and either Millwall or Middlesbrough youngsters Romain Esse or Ben Doak could be the next to do exactly that.

Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi all made the step up from the Championship to the top flight at Selhurst Park in recent years and have gone on to cement themselves as leading lights at that level. Last year, Crystal Palace made a January move for Adam Wharton from struggling Blackburn Rovers and the midfielder has since been capped by England.

With the January transfer window now open this year, the Eagles have been linked with several similar moves. The club are said to be in the mix for Sunderland midfielder Jobe Bellingham while £30 million rated Ben Doak, who is on loan at Boro from Liverpool, is another serious target.

Crystal Palace reportedly had a £15 million bid for Doak rejected by Liverpool already this month - the Reds hold the ability to recall the player and cash in this month should they desire to do so. The start of a transfer race has piqued the interest of West Ham and Fulham too, but it is perhaps elsewhere that Palace should be focusing their attention.

Crystal Palace linked with Millwall and Middlesbrough teenagers

The South London side have had interest in Millwall winger Romain Esse confirmed this week. The Lions boss Alex Neil told the South London Press: "There is interest from Crystal Palace. It has been well-documented. How far down the line that is, I’m not too sure.

“But I think people need to recognise how well we as a club have done by securing Romain on a new contract, which took, by all accounts, a lot of convincing to stay – because he wanted to play football. He is now playing football and has certainly been one of our best performers this season.

“We don’t want to lose our best players but everyone understands the contract situation surrounding Romain. If he does move he will move for significant money which from the club perspective has been brilliant business considering we could’ve lost him in the summer (next summer) for free. I don’t know when and if because I am not involved in that sort of negotiation side of things, but there certainly has been interest – as there will be if you have good players.”

While Esse does not come with the Premier League backing that Doak does, the 19-year-old's rise has certainly been head-turning. Where transfer talk around Doak has crescendoed in recent weeks, Esse had been tipped for a Premier League move much earlier.

Even when desperate to hold on to his rising star, former Millwall head coach Neil Harris had to accept that a top flight move was inevitable for Esse in quotes that should make Crystal Palace ensure the Lions man is their number one priority this month.

Speaking in September, Harris said: “I don’t worry about Romain’s mentality – he’s a brilliant young man. He has been schooled well here and has had a good upbringing at home. Romain just loves playing football. He wants to be on the pitch and he loves winning as well, which is important for us.

“Gary [Rowett] is right – there will be a lot of interest. He’s a 19-year-old who is playing in the Championship. Romain’s focus, and he’s been told in no uncertain terms, has to be to stay in the team.

“That’s his priority focus – everything else in football will come after that. If you’re not playing regularly from the start in the Championship, then you’re never going to move up the levels. Romain has huge potential. He’s a really grounded boy with great ability. He has added to his end product this year already. If he carries on doing that, then Romain will certainly grace the Premier League at some stage.”

Romain Esse has ‘wow’ factor amid Premier League interest

Those Harris quotes came in response to former Millwall manager Gary Rowett bigging up the player on Sky Sports. Esse had registered three goals and an assist in the Championship by early October as a breakthrough 12 months at The Den continued.

Rowett, who knows the player thanks to his four years at Millwall, said: “Premier League clubs will be looking at him very, very closely. He has got so much ability. Honestly, when he first came into the team a couple of years ago, he was one of those kids you look at and you think ‘wow’.

“I don’t think he’s put that into consistent performances on the pitch just yet, but if he does, he’s a superstar in the making. He has got absolutely everything. I’m expecting big things this season, he’s started it well, scoring a couple of goals, but he just needs a run of games. That’s like any young player, when he plays badly, he needs to stay in the team if he can - I know it’s difficult for a manager, but he’s got so much quality, and I’ve been really impressed with him.

“He does everything right in training, he’s got such a lovely attitude. He’s the first one out for training, shaking everyone’s hands, he’s so respectful, and he’s got that little bit of X-Factor. For Millwall, sometimes it’s easy to pick players who are going to work hard, that will give the fans what they want, but Esse can give you something different.”