ROMAIN Esse is looking forward to seeing his “old mates” when Crystal Palace host Millwall in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Esse, 19, joined the Eagles in a £14.5million move from the Lions in January.
Esse scored on his debut with his first touch in a 2-1 home defeat to Brentford in the Premier League and then played an hour in Palace’s 2-0 win at Doncaster Rovers in the last round.
But he hasn’t played a minute in any of Palace’s last four league games.
Esse’s focus is now fully on trying to knock his former team-mates out of the competition.
“I’m hoping we just get the job done,” Esse said. “And hopefully get into the next round. It’s always good to see your old mates and where you came from, but on the day I’ll just be thinking about doing everything to help us progress to the next round.
“They shaped me into the player I am today, but now I’m at Palace and I just want to give my all for Palace. Both sets of fans are very passionate and I know it’s going to be a game that every fan in the stadium is really up for.
“So I just cant wait to get on the pitch and show the Palace fans what I can do.
“It would mean a lot for us, it’s a cup that gives us a chance of some silverware this season. We have our eyes set on it. Each round we’ll take game by game.
“We’re going to give it our all and will be working hard to go as far as we possibly can.”
Meanwhile, Palace confirmed the game is sold out. Millwall have an allocation of just under 4,000.
