"They'll struggle" - Carlton Palmer pinpoints why Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is favouring Sheffield United over Norwich City | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer spoke about Norwich City joining the race for Crystal Palace's Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Carlton Palmer believes that Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi would have wanted to move to Sheffield United this summer, despite transfer interest from a number of clubs in the Championship.

Rak-Sakyi was a wanted man this summer, and Alan Nixon had reported via his Patreon that the likes of Hull City, Burnley and Leeds were interested, with the latter seeing a £15million permanent bid knocked back by Palace.

Sheffield United were the front-runners for Rak-Sakyi's signature, and they're set to get their man, with journalist Edmund Brack reporting via X that the Blades are set to complete a deal to sign the Palace man on loan.

This comes despite a recent twist emerging when Norwich joined the race to sign Rak-Sakyi following intense transfer interest in Jon Rowe, which saw him pull out of the Canaries' squad for their trip to Oxford United as he looks to close in on an exit this summer.

Carlton Palmer on Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's imminent move to Sheffield United

Former England international Palmer believes that Rak-Sakyi will have wanted to move to Sheffield United thanks to their strong start to the season, and also believes that Jon Rowe has been poorly advised following his decision to withdraw from the Canaries' squad, giving them a real headache at this stage of the season.

Speaking to Football League World, Palmer said: "After the events of the opening weekend of the season, Norwich have been plunged into a transfer nightmare with Jonathan Rowe refusing to play on the eve of their Championship opener against Oxford United, which Norwich lost 2-0.

"It’s not good behaviour when players do that, and they shouldn’t refuse to play. You’re under contract, and it’s up to the football club whether or not they sell you. You shouldn’t be forcing their hand by refusing to play.

"He’s been badly advised. I know Leeds United have made an offer which the club have turned down and Marseille, because they haven’t reached the valuation.

"It’s almost certain that Jonathan Rowe will leave the club this transfer window, so Norwich made a late bid to take Jesurun Rak-Sakyi on loan from Crystal Palace.

"I don’t believe that Norwich will be in the automatic promotion places. I think they’ll struggle to get into the play-offs, whereas Sheffield United and Leeds will be pushing for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

“Listen, wherever he went it would have been exciting. Would Norwich have been a good move? Yes, because he’s going to be playing regular first-team football, but I think the likelihood is that he'd have wanted to go to Sheffield United after their impressive start to the season."

It's easy to see why Sheffield United look set to bring Jesurun Rak-Sakyi to the club

The youngster suffered from injury problems at Palace last season, hence his lack of regular minutes, but he showed during his time on loan at Charlton Athletic during the 2022/23 season that he could be an excellent player at EFL level.

He played 49 games in total for the Addicks, scoring 15 goals and registering nine assists, some very impressive numbers, especially when you consider he was a 19-year-old at the time.

After struggling for regular playing time last season thanks to playing for a side in the Premier League and being hampered by injuries, Rak-Sakyi will be looking to get as much football under his belt as possible this season, and he certainly wasn't short of suitors at Championship level.

Palace rejecting a £15million bid from Leeds shows just how highly-rated he is, and they'll want guarantees that he'll be a regular starter at Bramall Lane.

Given the fact that the Blades are desperately short of wingers, Rak-Sakyi will likely see regular game time under Chris Wilder this season, and a move to South Yorkshire looks to be a perfect one on paper.