The £14.5m claim on Djeidi Gassama with Sheffield Wednesday man compared to Crystal Palace star…
Djeidi Gassama’s goal-grabbing effort at Plymouth Argyle served to further confirm his status as one of the EFL’s rising stars – and prompted an excitable comparison from Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Röhl.
The French youngster has rapidly become a fan favourite in a coming-of-age season in which he has now scored six goals and offered an assist across all competitions. Racing onto Josh Windass’ skilled through-ball to add the match-sealing strike in a 3-0 win, Gassama had earlier forced Nathan Ogbeta into an own goal and made a mockery of the Pilgrims defence for much of the afternoon.
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It provides the latest example of progress from a 21-year-old who was initially all but written off as too lightweight and unsuited to the Championship in the short reign of Röhl predecessor Xisco. Since the arrival of the German and his coaching staff, Gassama has been the poster boy for a course of rapid improvement from a number of players throughout the Owls squad.
“Since I have been here, Gass knows I am his biggest fan,” Röhl told The Star. “I supported him from the very first day and at the beginning of the season we had an honest conversation about what I expect from him – and he was more honest with me about what he demands from himself. At the beginning of the season I had to remember what it was he wanted to do. And now he is growing up.
“In the last 10 minutes he needs to understand the refs will not whistle for some smart fouls. It’s about staying in the game, being focused, bring the body in. But he told me at half-time he wanted to score today. He did that and he is always a weapon for us.”
There remains a way to go on the development of his all-round game but the eye-catching nature of Gassama’s performances this season – along with his age and profile – surely make him Wednesday’s most saleable on-field asset in a generation. The hope is of course that he can one day help spearhead the Owls to the Premier League promotion is has craved for a quarter of a century.
But in a division that has seen many clubs successfully reinvest profits from the big-money sales of players into a stronger and more progressive wider squad base, the question will begin to be raised as to whether Wednesday have a similar opportunity with Gassama and one or two others – if his progress stays on its current trajectory of course.
Comparisons with Crystal Palace’s Romain Esse
Teenage attacker Romain Esse made the switch from Millwall to Crystal Palace in January when the Eagles triggered a release clause reported to be worth somewhere up to the region of £14.5m. Wednesday boss Röhl has worked in the top table of world football and believes there is ‘no limit’ to where Gassama can go on the same basis.
“I will not praise him too much at the moment,” Röhl grinned. “But there is a player from Millwall who moved onto a Premier League club. You will know who I mean. I think there is no limit for Gass when I compare him. One against one he is always dangerous, but to make the next step we have to work on him off the ball.
