Charlton Athletic manager Ben Garner has compared Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi to Eagles talisman Wilfried Zaha, who he worked with during his time as a coach at the Premier League club, and Manchester United legend George Best. 

The 19-year-old winger joined the Addicks on a season-long loan in the summer window and has made a fast start to life at The Valley – scoring two goals and providing two assists in his seven appearances for the League One outfit so far.

Joining Charlton from local rivals Palace has not made Rak-Sakyi any less popular among his new fanbase and it appears he is very highlighted by his new manager as well.

Speaking to The Athletic, Garner, who coached the Eagles' youth setup and first team earlier in his career, drew links between the on-loan teenager, Zaha and Best.

He said: "Jes has a similar ability to Wilf in that they look like maybe they’re going to lose the ball and they toe it through someone’s legs or nick it away.

“His standout attribute is his wonderful balance and ability to change direction. He’s a little bit of a throwback in some ways — you go back to people like George Best who can beat people without moving the ball. Jes can do that.

“He can beat people with his body movement. He can go both ways, finish off both feet, but he’s also got his eyes up and has got vision. I worked with a lot of players in academy football who were fantastic dribblers but didn’t see movement around them. Jes can carry the ball but he’s got awareness.

“Wilf at the same age was more of an out-and-out dribbler. Jes has a bit of a headstart in that his productivity is ahead of Wilf with how cleanly he strikes the ball and his numbers.”

Rak-Sakyi's next chance to impress should come against Barnsley at Oakwell on Saturday.

The Verdict

This will be music to the ears of Palace fans.

There is plenty of promising attacking talent already in Patrick Vieira's squad but the prospect of one of their homegrown players showing enough promise to draw serious links to Zaha when he was a similar age and stylistically to Best is even more exciting.

Obviously, Rak-Sakyi still has a long, long way to go to reach the Palace talisman's level but this is high praise indeed from a manager perfectly positioned to offer insight into his potential and development.

Supporters of the Premier League club will likely be keeping an eye on their rivals' matches for a very different reason this term.