Millwall boss expecting England U18 winger Romain Esse to be a starter in his side next season

Millwall manager Gary Rowett is expecting Romain Esse to be making starts for the club next season – and reckons the prospect’s England call-up reflects the positive impact he has made in senior football.

The young winger made his U18 debut for the Three Lions in a 2-1 win over Croatia earlier this week.

Esse signed a long-term contract with the Lions in January and has made eight appearances in all competitions this season, all of them off the bench.

“It’s quite nice recognition for his involvement and impact in games,” Rowett told the South London Press. “It’s another nice story to add to what has been a positive season.

“Bradders has got called back up (by Wales). Romain has been called up and recognised by England, which is a bit of a challenge with the young Premier League players around.

“But Romain, at 17, is playing in the first team and coming on to play regular minutes. It’s a real nice recognition of his talents and where the club is at the moment.

Our #YoungLions came from behind to beat hosts Croatia 2-1 earlier today 👏

— England (@England) March 22, 2023

“It’s a difficult one for a manager, sometimes, because he is more than talented enough to start in our team and could give us something different.

“At the moment when the games are so important and there is such a settled starting 11, to a certain degree, it is quite hard to take that gamble. At any other stage of the season he would’ve started a game or two by now.

“What he does coming on late on is that he can unlock the door or break through a tight defence with a little bit of quality. He has a lovely feel for a pass and weight of pass – little things that maybe go unnoticed a little bit.

“He is very, very creative in the final third. He can beat people. He can take people on and open the game up.

“We lacked that a bit (against Huddersfield). You can pass the ball all you want and we had 70 per cent of the ball. But at some point someone has got to beat someone to open the game up or make a pass which opens the game up.

“Rom has got that and we’ll see it come out more and more as the season develops – potentially into next season as well. I definitely feel he can be a starter for us next year. He could be a starter now but this is all really getting him ready to have a real, real impact next year.”