Leeds United, Sunderland and Sheffield United 'express interest' in Crystal Palace star after Southampton offer rejected
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Leeds United are one of several clubs to have ‘expressed interest’ in Crystal Palace star Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, according to recent reports.
Rak-Sakyi looks set for a spell away from Selhurst Park, with Palace keen on securing a loan move for their promising winger. The 21-year-old stayed with his parent club in a bid to break through last term but found minutes hard to come by, hampered in part by a hamstring injury that kept him out for almost six months between November and April.
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Hide AdBut the tricky winger was also behind a number of more senior options in the pecking order, including Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. The latter’s recent move to Bayern Munich is not expected to improve Rak-Sakyi’s chance of starting regularly and so he could find a temporary home to continue developing next season.
Southampton have expressed their interest in the England Under-20 international but, unusually, look to miss out because of their Premier League status. The Daily Mail reports that Russell Martin’s side have enquired about a loan and a permanent deal, but Palace are conscious of doing business with a rival and want to ensure their young star will enjoy regular football, having missed large parts of last season.
The London club are said to be open to doing business with a Championship outfit, taking inspiration from the way in which Omari Hutchinson improved dramatically at Ipswich Town, eventually returning to Portman Road for an initial £18million. Alongside Leeds, Sunderland and Sheffield United are named in the report but it is thought a large majority of the second-tier would be keen on the winger.
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Hide AdRak-Sakyi emerged as one of the country’s most promising youngsters during a season at Charlton Athletic in 2022/23 in which he registered 15 goals and eight assists on his way to being crowned Supporters’ Player of the Season. That campaign was in League One and after a full year of development - albeit held back by injuries to some extent - there is an expectation he could produce the same numbers at Championship-level if playing regularly.
Whether Leeds will push on with their interest remains to be seen but the YEP understands extensive work has been done on prospective wingers, with the early-summer assumption being that one or both of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto would likely leave. Archie Gray’s £40m move to Tottenham means the club are no longer actively looking to sell but appropriate offers will be considered - as happened with Glen Kamara’s £8m move to Stade Rennais.
With Palace keen to ensure Rak-Sakyi will start regularly, it seems a move to Elland Road could only realistically materialise if one of the current crop move on. The England youth international most naturally operates cutting in from the right, a position Leeds are currently well-stocked in with Gnonto and Dan James jostling for starts.
Last season’s on loan winger, Jaidon Anthony, found regular football hard to come by and only started six times across all competitions thanks to the outstanding form of Summerville on his natural left side. It is unlikely Palace would allow Rak-Sakyi to join if consistent starts cannot be guaranteed, particularly if other Championship clubs can make that promise.