Ghanaian youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has been shortlisted for Premier League 2 Player of the Season following his impressive display for Crystal Palace’s Under-23 team.
The 19-year-old propelled Palace to finish 5th in the Premier League 2 Division 1, their first campaign in the top-flight of Academy football, winning February’s PL2 Player of the Month award.
He scored incredible 18 goals from 25 appearances throughout 2021/22, making him joint-top scorer with Manchester City’s James McAtee.
Rak-Sakyi made his Premier League debut in August 2021 against Chelsea and was named Premier League 2 Player of the Month for February 2022. Throughout the campaign he trained with Patrick Vieira’s first-team squad.
He also had a strong season internationally, marking his England Under-20 debut by scoring against Romania.
He collected the Player of the Season award from Under-23s assistant manager Darren Powell at the club’s free-to-attend awards night.
Though Rak-Sakyi is also eligible to represent Ghana through his parents, he accepted a call-up to the England U20 team in September 2021 to replace an injured Anthony Gordon.
On September 6 2021, he made a goalscoring debut for the U20s during a 6–1 victory over Romania U20s at St. George’s Park.
Eight nominees were selected by the Premier League Football Development Panel after PL2 club coaches nominated the best performances by opposing players throughout the season.
The panel also decide the winner, who will be announced next week.
