Millwall bid for Wolves winger Ben Marshall is more than £1.2million
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Millwall will break their record transfer fee if they sign Ben Marshall – with their offer for the Wolves winger in excess of £1.2million.
The 27-year-old is a top target for the Lions this summer after shining during his loan stay in the second half of the last Championship campaign.
Reports over the weekend pitched the Millwall offer for Marshall at £1.2million but the figure is higher than that.
The Lions completed their first piece of incoming business when they signed Murray Wallace from Scunthorpe United last week.
But they always knew that Marshall would be a more drawn out process.
What is clear is that he has no future at the Premier League new boys.
Norwich City also have an interest in the Salford-born wideman, who can also play at right-back. They sold James Maddison to Leicester City and Jacob Murphy to Cardiff City for fees thought to be in the region of £20m and £11m respectively.
If Millwall are able to land Marshall then the deal will comfortably beat their long-standing record of £800,000 for Paul Goddard in 1989.
There is no panic from Lions boss Harris about a quiet start to the transfer window – especially with the South London club going for quality and not quantity.
Millwall reported back for pre-season training yesterday.
“I hoped we’d get one or two players in before the start of the players coming back but realistically, with it being a World Cup year, I knew it was always going to be difficult,” said Harris.
“We want two players in, possibly one or two more on the proviso that one or two might go out the door in the search for first-team football.
“I’m really pleased with the squad we’ve got. No-one can disagree we were excellent last season. As much as we strive to be better, adding one or two to the squad, it’s a long window for us with no play-off final.
“We have to be careful that we don’t look at time passed but look at what time there is in the future to get things done.
“It gives me a wry smile when I see other managers quoted as being frustrated or it is all a bit slow. We’ve all experienced that over the last few weeks. You do want to edge things along and try and get your squad in place but the reality and the level we’re at now means there is a knock-on effect from the Premier League.”