Millwall FC may have found their Romain Esse replacement | OneFootball

Raees Bangura-Williams has emerged as a serious Millwall talent following Romain Esse's departure for Crystal Palace

Millwall have endured a roller coaster of a season so far, and emerged as surprise play-off candidates when they enjoyed a nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship, which spanned the majority of October, and the entirety of November.

During that unbeaten streak, the Lions pulled off two major upsets as they defeated automatic promotion candidates Burnley and Leeds United in back-to-back encounters.

Matters were really looking up for the men from the Den when they beat the Whites 1-0 courtesy of a 40th minute volley from defender Japhet Tanganga.

However, a six-game winless streak soon followed, while popular manager Neil Harris announced his resignation ahead of a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough last month.

By late December, the Lions appointed former Preston North End boss Alex Neil, who is yet to oversee a victory in the Championship, but did steer his new side to a 3-0 win over National League Dagenham & Redbrige in the third round of the FA Cup.

But the most notable moment of Neil's Millwall tenure so far arrived when Premier League club Crystal Palace bought starlet Romain Esse for a fee of £12m, which could rise to £14.5m.

Millwall may already have an Esse replacement on their books

The 19-year-old wideman made his Lions debut during the 2022/23 season, in which he made 12 appearances in the Championship, and a further outing in the FA Cup.

But Esse's first goal contribution would not arrive until the following campaign, as he scored on two occasions, from 25 appearances, but just six starts, in the second tier.

This season, though, the teenager has hit loftier heights than ever before, and notched an impressive return of four goals and one assist in 24 Championship outings, which was enough to convince Palace to snap his services up.

The Lions youth academy graduate's exit will undoubtedly have arrived as a major blow to the Den side, but fellow youngster Raees Bangura-Williams has already emerged as a potential replacement.

He signed for the Lions back in December 2023, having previously plied his trade in non-league for Tooting & Mitcham, but had to wait until the aforementioned cup tie with Dagenham to make his senior debut for the club.

And just 10 minutes after entering the field of play as a second-half substitute in the FA Cup, Bangura-Williams announced his presence when he completed a mazy dribble, and fired home from a tight angle.

While the 20-year-old was up against fifth tier opponents, scoring on his Millwall debut was no mean feat, and was a sign of things to come for the promising starlet.

He went on to create an assist during the Lions' 2-2 draw with Cardiff City in the Championship on Tuesday night, after completing yet another skillful run, before teeing up Casper de Norre, who scored.

Bangura-Williams has made a total of just three senior appearances for Neil's men, and has already managed two goal contributions, demonstrating that he could be more than capable of filling the void left behind by Esse's exit.

The Championship has proven a fruitful market for Palace

The signing of Esse from the Lions demonstrates that Palace are still placing their trust in the Championship market amid their efforts to climb the Premier League table.

In recent years, the Selhurst Park outfit have reaped the benefits of purchasing some of the finest talent the second tier has on offer, such as Eberechi Eze, who has become a real star for them since joining from Queens Park Rangers back in 2020.

Meanwhile, Palace also signed Michael Olise from then-Championship Reading during the summer of 2021 for a relatively modest transfer fee of £8m.

The France international went on to establish himself as one of the finest attacking midfielders in the Premier League, and subsequently joined German giants Bayern Munich ahead of the current campaign for a far more handsome sum of £50.8m.

But while Esse could be the latest player to continue the Selhurst Park trend of transitioning from a Championship starlet to a top-flight ace, perhaps the Lions may not miss his services, thanks to the increasingly impressive efforts of Bangura-Williams, who could quite possibly end up being the biggest thrill of this season's Millwall roller coaster.