England-born Ghanaian teenager Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has been named Crystal Palace’s U23 Player of the Season following his terrifying campaign in the 2021-22 season.
Rak-Sakyi played a crucial role for Palace to finish 5th in the Premier League 2 Division 1, their first campaign in the top-flight of Academy football.
The 19-year-old attacker scored 18 goals and provided 6 assists from 25 appearances throughout 2021/22 season.
He was 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.
Having been training with the first team squad throughout the season, Palace manager Patrick Vieira said of him:
“He’s a young, talented player and we have to work with him to try to help him.”
The highly-rated player marked his England Under-20 debut by scoring against Romania on September 6, 2021 following a 6-1 victory.
Rak-Sakyi said: “It’s been a great season, not just for me but the whole team. I’m very thankful. It’s been great [training with the first-team].
“It’s been my best season so far. I’ve been working so hard this season and am grateful for everyone who’s helped me.”
He collected the Player of the Season award from Under-23s assistant manager Darren Powell at the club’s free-to-attend awards night on Tuesday.
