Frank Lampard urged against Coventry City, Crystal Palace transfer agreement

Romain Esse joined Coventry City on loan from Crystal Palace in January, with Frank Lampard looking to bolster his wide options for the remainder of the 2025/26 Championship season.

 

With only two specialist wingers heading into January, Coventry City added both Romain Esse and Yang Min-hyeok arriving on loan from the Premier League. They also bolstered their ranks with some more steel in midfield through Frank Onyeka.

They look likely to be the missing pieces required, with Coventry well-placed to return to the Premier League after over 20 years away. However, the impact of each player has been vastly different.

 

The Spurs loanee has featured just four times, including one start. Onyeka had to work his way into the team but is now a vital cog in midfield, while Esse started well but has since faded.

 

In his 11 appearances, he has registered two goal involvements. That came from six starts, but he has started just once in Coventry’s last seven Championship games and been an unused substitute in two of those fixtures as well.

What’s gone wrong for Crystal Palace loanee Romain Esse at Coventry City

FLW asked our Coventry fan pundit Chris for his thoughts on the situation and whether he could become a pemanent player in the summer if/when Premier League promotion is confirmed? Or if Cov should be looking at more proven top flight wingers to bolster their squad instead?

 

Speaking about what’s gone wrong for the 20-year-old, he said: “Sadly, I think the Esse experiment has failed a little bit. It’s probably time to look elsewhere.

 

“He came in and it was a really exciting signing. We had only heard good things from Palace fans and Millwall fans; they loved him. When he first came in, his first four or five appearances looked really promising.

“He was scoring and getting assists and he looked a real quality player. He obviously has that bit of flair about him and that’s not something we’ve seen much of in years at Cov.

 

“So everything looked really promising for him and then he just, sort of, fell off really quickly. It became quite apparent that he’s a bit of a show pony. When he pulls off those bits of skill and flair, it looks incredible.

 

“And you think, ‘Oh my God, wow, this is what we have always needed at Cov’. But it’s rare that he pulls them off. He attempts things at the wrong times when he should be thinking about playing more as part of a team, rather than as an individual.