06-02-2025
Crystal Palace prospect Jesse Derry set to leave after rejecting contract offer
Crystal Palace youngster Jesse Derry is set to leave the club after rejecting a professional contract.
The 17-year-old forward has informed Palace that it is his intention to leave in the summer when his existing scholarship contract expires and that he will not sign fresh terms.
He is believed to be concerned about a perceived lack of pathway at the club, with no apparent medium to long-term route into the first-team set-up.
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Derry is the son of Palace cult hero Shaun, who captained the team which avoided relegation from the Championship on the final day of the 2009-10 season after being deducted 10 points following the club entering administration in January 2010.
Shaun returned to Palace after retiring as a player to become a coach but was controversially sacked as first-team coach in January 2023 by then-manager Patrick Vieira and subsequently came back for a brief spell under Roy Hodgson after Vieira's departure.
Derry was named Under-18s player of the season last term after scoring 16 goals in 22 appearances and has been recognised on the international stage with England Under-18s.
He was named in the England Under-17s squad for their European U17 Championship qualifying matches in November 2023 and scored four times in three games.
Derry has made nine appearances for Palace's Under-21 side — of which five have come in Premier League 2 with a single start, three in the Premier League International Cup where he scored during a 2-1 defeat by RB Leipzig last month, and one as a late substitute in November's 4-1 EFL Trophy defeat by Peterborough.
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Palace, whose £30million academy redevelopment is set to be complete later this year with a hydrotherapy centre, will be due significant compensation from any team who decides to sign him.
Should an agreement not be reached over the fee, it will be determined at a tribunal by the Professional Footballers' Compensation Committee.
Barring any unexpected change of heart, he will become the third academy player to leave in quick succession, with 17-year-old striker Samuel Lusale departing for Manchester United in September, while Under-15s midfielder Reggie Watson moved to Chelsea in the summer.
Watson, who made his Chelsea Under-18 debut aged 15, is the son of former Palace midfielder Ben, who emerged through the club's academy to make his senior debut aged 17 in 2003 and made 189 appearances for the club.
As well as for Derry, Palace will also receive hefty compensation for both Lusale and Watson.
