‘Intense, aggressive and front foot’ – that’s why Leeds midfielder felt Millwall was a perfect fit

When Jamie Shackleton weighed up his move options this summer, he was looking for a club that matched his approach to the game.

“The way I want to play is intense, aggressive and on the front foot,” said the 22-year-old. “I don’t think there are many that fit that better than Millwall.

“I get the impression that it is very similar, in a way, to what the fans expect at Leeds. The bare minimum when you put on the shirt is to give 110 per cent, that is expected.

“From what I’ve heard and been told, that’s the way with Millwall fans as well.”

Shackleton has arrived on a season-long loan from Leeds United, his first move away from the Yorkshire club.

The former England U20 international made his debut in 2018 and scored twice in 22 matches in the 2019-20 Championship title-winning season masterminded by Marcelo Bielsa.

Shackleton has played 67 times at senior level for Leeds, 27 of those in the Premier League.

But the prospect of fewer minutes in the new campaign – he clocked up 705 in 14 appearances last time around – made the midfielder receptive to a transfer.

“Over the summer I had to think about things,” said Shackleton. “With the changes and incomings at Leeds, it made it apparent that maybe game time would be even harder to come by.

“At 22 it is a pretty important time of my career – that I’m playing football and not watching football so much.

“In an ideal world I would’ve played every single game since I broke in, but that’s not how football works. I’ve had a couple of badly-timed injuries here and there that haven’t helped, along with squad rotation. The aim now is to get some proper minutes under my belt.”

Shackleton has enjoyed success with his hometown club and scored their last goal in the Championship, capping off a 4-0 win over Charlton on the final day that also helped consign the visitors to League One.

Bielsa played the youth product at right-back.

“It improved me as a player massively, which can only be a good thing,” said Shackleton. “That is what you train every day to do – improve. I can only say positive things about him, I learned to play a new position in a relatively short space of time.

“I’m able to help the team in a different position and provide different options, if needed.

“Out of the two I feel midfield is my natural position. Right-back isn’t somewhere I don’t enjoy playing, but I feel my qualities and skill-set can be shown off better in midfield.

“The season we went up is probably one of the highlights of my career, that feeling of getting a promotion to the Premier League is pretty special. Hopefully I can get the same feeling again this season.

“I was only young but even the older lads who were 29 or 30 were at the peak physical shape of their careers. That was down to training and how they were doing things away from football.

“The fitness levels and intensity showed when the team went out on the pitch.”

Shackleton has a familiar face in SE16 in Charlie Cresswell. The England U21 international is also on loan from Leeds.

“He’s similar to me – he’ll give everything. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s definitely not shirking out of tackles.

“He’s a big lad and he’ll look after himself. He has also got a lot of quality on the ball.”