Crystal Palace teenager Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
Crystal Palace boss, Patrick Vieira was impressed with the performance of Ghanaian youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on his Premier League debut on Saturday, August 14, 2021.
The 18-year-old made his debut against former club Chelsea, who beat his current club 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Discussing the 18-year-old, Vieira said: “He’s a kid who spent pre-season with us and I was really pleased with what he’s been doing on the field. He’s a really lovely kid and when he came on at 3-0 I just wanted him to get on the ball.”
“He’s a good dribbler, can score goals as well so I wanted him to be a bit higher on the field, but he spent most of the time behind the ball defending. The quality of Chelsea made it really difficult for us to get on the ball. He’s a young, talented player and we have to work with him to try to help him.”
Rak-Sakyi was introduced into the game in the 77th minute, replacing Jairo Riedewald when Palace was down 3-0.
He joined his Ghanaian compatriot Jordan Ayew on the field as Palace tried to get at least a consolation goal, which their limp performance did not deserve.
Also, Ghanaian left wing-back Jeffrey Schlupp was in action but he left the pitch before Rak-Sakyi was brought on by Vieira.
The winger left the Chelsea youth team in 2019 and joined Palace. Since then, his career has been on the rise.
He was handed a professional contract by erstwhile manager Roy Hodgson earlier this year after excelling for the U-18 and U-23 teams.
Born to Ghanaian parents in the UK, the attacker remains eligible to play for Ghana at the international level.