Esse first joined Millwall’s academy at the age of just nine-years-old back in 2014, having previously trialled with Chelsea. The winger had been with the Lions for over a decade, until his switch across South London to Palace.
Born in Lambeth and raised in nearby Peckham and Bermondsey, Esse was surrounded by talented footballers.
While honing his craft, he attended St Thomas the Apostle College for five years, whose alumni includes plenty of professional footballers: Ademola Lookman, Nigel Quashie, Nyron Nosworthy and Danny Haynes.
Despite joining Palace at just 19-years-old, Esse already has over two years of senior football under his belt, starting all but one of Millwall’s Championship matches in 2024/25 before his move.
A landmark moment in his fledging career arrived on the opening day of 2023/24: only minutes after entering the action from the bench away at Middlesbrough, Esse curled home a stunning first-time effort into the top corner to win the match.
Esse has also already left his mark on the international scene: an England Under-18 debut came back in March 2023, the winger appearing in a 2-1 win over Croatia.
By September of that year, Esse had been promoted to the Under-19s side and, just 18 months later, had managed to score at three different levels of youth international football.
The highlight was a stunning individual effort in a 4-0 win over Germany for the Under-20s in the Euro Elite League, a goal which summed up his natural ability: collecting the ball on the edge of the area, evading challenges, before managing to curl the ball into the far corner.
Moments of this ilk will bring the Selhurst Park faithful to their feet, hopefully for a long time to come.
Esse made his Palace debut coming on as a substitute against Brentford at Selhurst Park a week after joining and he scored with his first ever touch in front of the Holmesdale.
He concldued the season with nine appearances across all competitions and an FA Cup winners medal to boot.
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