Charlton loan spell was ‘wake-up call’ for Crystal Palace prospect – Joel Ward reacts to Roy Hodgson’s return

BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

Crystal Palace defender Joel Ward believes Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s loan spell with Charlton Athletic has been “integral” to the winger’s development.

The Eagles academy graduate scored 15 goals and picked up nine assists in 49 appearances during last season’s spell in SE7.

Rak-Sakyi was nominated for the EFL Young Player of the Season award and won Charlton’s main honour.

The 20-year-old played 45 minutes in the 1-0 pre-season defeat to National League side Barnet on Tuesday night.

Rak-Sakyi and fellow youngster Malcolm Ebiowei are the only recognised wingers fit and available for selection. Michael Olise suffered a hamstring injury on international duty with France’s U21 side.

“Jes is a great talent,” said Ward, who is into his 11th season as a Crystal Palace player after signing a one-year extension this summer. “He has a lot of potential and he’s only just at the beginning.

“Going out, getting games, and making sure he did that last season was integral to his development and integral for actually playing for something.

“There is a difference from playing for the U23s to playing in the league – it’s peoples’ livelihoods.

“He has got a taste of that. It was maybe a bit of a wake-up call, and you can see that in his reaction to the way he plays.”

Roy Hodgson was recently announced as the Palace boss for the 2023-24 season. The former Fulham and England manager replaced Patrick Vieira for the final 10 games of the last campaign and guided the South Londoners to comfortable safety – 11 points clear of the bottom three.

“I didn’t expect anything else with the way in which the back end of the season went,” said Ward, 33, of Hodgson staying on. “I don’t think you can come away from the fact that we went on an incredible run of five wins, three draws and two defeats.

Hodgson will be 76 when the Eagles kick off their Premier League season at Sheffield United on August 5.

“He’s an example,” said Ward. “Not just to people in football, but to people on the outside, that age is just a number.

“He’s still at the top of the game, and there is a reason for that. It’s remarkable what he’s achieved throughout the game. You can’t take that for granted or disregard that.

“It’s going to be good to see where we can go, what we can build, and with him at the helm, what we can achieve. With the quality that we possess, if we continue working on the things we know, that quality will shine through.

“We possess an enormous amount of talent going through the squad. That can shine once we have built from a solid foundation.”

Hodgson has set Palace the task of a top-half finish in the Premier League.

“You have to be ambitious. If you’re not, what are you striving for?” said Ward.