Flying Dutchman Zian Flemming continues to make big impact for Millwall

Gary Rowett lauded the impact that Zian Flemming has made at Millwall after the Dutchman notched his 10th goal of the season against Watford.

Andreas Voglsammer broke the deadlock for the Lions in the first half before Hassane Kamara was sent off for lashing out at Danny McNamara just before the break.

Flemming plundered his fifth goal in four games to seal the points in the 83rd minute as Millwall ended Boxing Day in sixth spot with a game in hand on most of their rivals.

Speaking after the match, Rowett sang the praises for the Lions’ club-record signing – and claimed that he always believed that Flemming had the perfect blend of physicality and technical ability to make an impact in the Championship.

“We watched him for a long time,” said Rowett.

“He’s a player I’ve watched extensively and tried to sign a couple of times. We felt there was an opportunity with Fortuna Sittard looking likely to be relegated out of the Eredivisie. I think the [release] clause was put in if they stayed up, so it gave Flem an opportunity to move on. We paid that money because he’s a player that we felt could come in and impact the division.

“You see it at the end – he has a little 50-50, a shoulder challenge, and he comes out with the ball. He’s got strength and the technical ability and the understanding to go with it. He’s been fantastic so far. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him because it’s never easy when a player comes into a new division.

“Most importantly he’s fitted into the group. Him and Vogi have fitted right in and immersed themselves into everything and the rest of the players have welcomed them with open arms because they recognise they bring something a little different to the team.

“He’s a young player as well, so there’s obvious reasons why we brought him in. What we’ve done all the time is the owner’s been absolutely fantastic, we’re not a selling club. We’re not a develop and sell club, like some clubs, we want maximum impact.

“The fact he’s come in and scored 10 goals so far [is] fabulous. He might go and score another 10, he might not, but he’s been valuable for the team either way because he gives us something very very different as a number 10.”