Crystal Palace have agreed a deal to sign a young “sensation” for Oliver Glasner in a cheap transfer before next week’s deadline.
Crystal Palace signing Romain Esse scores in debut
The Eagles have only made one winter window addition so far, with Romain Esse signing from Championship side Millwall. The attacking midfielder has already made his mark at Selhurst Park, scoring in the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Brentford on the weekend.
When asked why the club signed Esse this month, Glasner previously jokingly claimed: “We said, ‘Who is living closest to the training ground? Then we will sign him.’ It was Romain, because he can walk over — it’s just a three-minute walk. It’s sustainability. He doesn’t need a car. He can walk tomorrow.
“Of course, Dougie [Freedman] has known of him longer. We have a great scouting team. We analyse our games and then ask which profile we could add to the team that we don’t [already] have. I think his numbers are not extraordinary in the Championship. But he’s 19.
“The second part is that he’s a great character. Dougie knows him very, very well. I also had a talk with him. He’s listening and he wants to improve and learn. Having great skills and having this character is what we want.
“To be a little bit critical, it took a little bit too long to get the signing done. But it’s better in the middle of the transfer window than at the end.”
Crystal Palace now submit £10m+ bid to sign "complete package" for Glasner
The Eagles could be set to land their second signing in this transfer window.
1 ByBrett WorthingtonJan 26, 2025
Sporting director Dougie Freedman and those at Palace appear to be eyeing more signings, with a new defender on the agenda after Chelsea recalled Trevoh Chalobah and Chadi Riad suffering a worrying injury.
Crystal Palace submitted an opening bid worth €15m (£13m) to sign left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, but another attacking gem looks set to arrive for the Eagles.
Crystal Palace agree to sign attacking “sensation”
As per journalist Pete O’Rourke for Football Insider, Crystal Palace have agreed a deal to sign Australian forward Rylan Brownlie, who he dubbed a “sensation” on X.
“Crystal Palace have agreed a deal to sign Australian teenage sensation Rylan Brownlie on a free transfer. Brownlie will seal the move when he turns 18 next month. Former Palace defender Craig Moore helped broker the deal for the highly-rated forward.”
Within his report, O’Rourke reveals that Palace have agreed terms with the 17-year-old on a free transfer after he left Brisbane Roar and his move will become official when he turns 18 next month. Brownlie previously trained with Palace in December and ‘the highly-rated forward did enough during his training stint at Palace to be offered a deal’, with the player’s agent being former Crystal Palace defender Craig Moore.
The teenager has limited first-team experience but did make 12 senior A-League appearances for Brisbane Roar before leaving the club, scoring once and registering one assist.
Palace will be hoping that in the future, Brownlie and Esse can star together in the first team, but for now, you’d expect the former to begin his Palace career in the club’s academy.