Millwall chief outlines attacking plans for transfer window – and explains why Luton new boy stopped being a target

Millwall will bring in at least one striker in this summer’s transfer window.

The Lions agreed a new 12-month contract with Matt Smith, 32, this week.

But the South Londoners are going to be active recruiting at the top end of the pitch.

“We’ll either sign a striker and an attacking midfielder – or two strikers,” Millwall manager Gary Rowett told the South London Press. “That is the scenarios and we will 100 per cent do that.”

The Lions went down the loan route last season as they brought in West Brom’s Kenneth Zohore and Tottenham’s Troy Parrott. The former’s poor injury record affected his impact while the latter struggled to adapt to Championship football.

Asked to rate the prospects of those offensive positions being permanent or temporary deals, Rowett said: “Probably 50-50.

“It’s clear to see that those are the players who probably cost the most money.

“So should you go and sign a League One striker for £1.5million who has not played at the level or is proven at the level? Or do you go and get a Premier League or top Championship striker on loan where you pay bigger wages? It’s a hard one.

“I know we had Ken Zohore and it didn’t quite work out, the same with Troy, but then look at Scott Malone – that really did work out for us.

“We couldn’t have got Scott permanently last season. There is always half an eye on whether we can sign a player permanently at some point. That is probably the way we’d do it, rather than just a loan.

“We want our own players and to develop our own players, because they are your own assets. But the budget is not the biggest in the division. It’s not easy to be as specific as that all the time.”

The Den chief has confirmed that Allan Campbell, who joined Luton Town earlier this week, was not a target for them this summer.

The 22-year-old had been the subject of Lions’ interest at the start of 2020, along with Hibernian centre-back Ryan Porteous.

“He [Campbell] is a fabulous signing for Luton,” said Rowett. “He was one we tried to sign in January, but then we signed Maikel Kieftenbeld and Billy Mitchell broke back through into the team. So we have got two players very similar, so at that point it wasn’t something we were pursuing.

“I’ll be really interested to see how he does. He is a player I really liked and Luton have got an excellent young player. But there are only so many players, of the same style, that we can sign.

“I wish him all the best. I think he’s got a really good future.”