Coventry City Eyeing Up Move for Crystal Palace Starlet

Frank Lampard Targets Crystal Palace Talent

Coventry City are looking into a loan move for Crystal Palace talent Romain Esse this January, with Frank Lampard looking to reinforce a side chasing for the EFL Championship title come the end of the season.

Esse, 20, joined Crystal Palace in January 2025 as a teenager following some impressive early years spent with local rivals Millwall, with the fee reportedly being within the £12m range. He has been limited to just 10 Premier League appearances in that year's time, as well as three in Europe, and manager Oliver Glasner would be happy to afford him a chance at more consistent game time toward the end of the season.

Coventry City have held talks with Crystal Palace over the loan signing of Romain Esse.

There are other clubs interested in the winger but Frank Lampard's side appear to be in pole position.

(Via: @JPercyTelegraph) pic.twitter.com/Ob3delyWWU

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) January 2, 2026

Lampard Chasing Recuits with Esse Lined Up

According to John Percy and Mike McGrath, Coventry City have already entered into talks over the potential procurement of former Millwall talent Esse, though they are reportedly not the only club in the hunt for his signature.

As of now, Coventry City are the one named club in the race but other clubs are beginning to circle Esse as they look to secure his talents on loan to the season.

Championship leaders Coventry have held talks over signing Crystal Palace winger Romain Esse on loan. Other Championship clubs interested but Frank Lampard hopeful of agreeing a deal soon. With @mcgrathmike #pusb #skyblues #cpfc

— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 2, 2026

Despite fellow interest, it has been noted that Lampard himself is 'hopeful' of agreeing a deal sooner or later.

Esse has turned out on seven occasions in Crystal Palace's first team this season, with Glasner's men holding an involvement in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Esse was handed a starting berth in their most recent clash in that competition, which was a 2-2 draw with KuPS on the 18th of December, with The Eagles missing out on a top-eight finish.

Esse was an 82nd-minute substitution in yesterday's 1-1 draw with Fulham in the Premier League, with regular game-time proving hard to come by for the Lambeth-born attacker - despite scoring on his Premier League debut with his first-ever touch for the club.

Why Esse?

The type of player that Esse represents is one that could indeed prove the perfect addition to Frank Lampard's side as they look to close out their title win. He would offer a welcome supplement to the attacking talents already on offer at the CBS Arena, such as Haji Wright and Ellis Simms, and a Coventry side that has netted a massive 55 goals in 25 games will not soon be slowed by the arrival of a tricky, pacy talent such as Esse.

✍️ Coventry have held talks over signing Crystal Palace winger Romain Esse on loan.

(via @JPercyTelegraph)

And THAT is how you get promoted, go and sign a few more quality players when you're top of the league 👏 pic.twitter.com/DVIfwt85F3

— The #EFL Zone (@TheFLZone) January 2, 2026

The move should be a fairly smart one for the player, too. Since making the hope across London from Millwall to Palace, Esse has only totted up a total of 16 senior appearances for his new club. At Millwall, he managed to accumulate 66 at an incredibly young age, and the argument could be made that his development has been slowed down since heading to Selhurst Park. As a result, going back into the Championship is far from a relegation for the 20-year-old, and he'll get a chance at more regular minutes under a manager who works very well with younger talents in Frank Lampard.

And, of course, this is all before you even talk about how good Coventry are - the Sky Blues sit eight points clear of Ipswich at the top of the EFL Championship table, and the end of a quarter-century wait for top-flight football in Coventry looks set to finally end in a few months.