Millwall boss Gary Rowett: Joe Bryan is hungry for game time – and he is a proven winner

Gary Rowett reckons the addition of Championship promotion winner Joe Bryan is an indicator of the pulling power Millwall possess.

The Lions completed the signing of the 29-year-old left-sided defender on Wednesday.

Bryan was released by Fulham earlier this summer and had attracted interest from hometown club Bristol City.

He twice reached the Premier League with the west London club, including memorably scoring both goals in their 2020 play-off final win over Brentford at Wembley.

Bryan will start training with Millwall tomorrow.

“That is the sort of level of performance we know he has got,” Rowett told the South London Press. “It’s encouraging to know that if we get to similar positions again in the league that someone like Joe has been there, seen it and done it before.

“That’s one of the things we’re looking at, as part of our recruitment profile. There are a lot of other things we are looking at as well.

“At only 29, Joe is a great age to come in and push ourselves, and push himself, on.

“He is a player that, straight away, you think it is a no-brainer (to sign). He has played at the top level in the Championship and played in the Premier League.”

Bryan featured 49 times for Fulham when they won their first promotion back to the top flight but saw his involvement reduced after that with Antonee Robinson – linked with Manchester City and Newcastle – the first choice pick at left-back.

He spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 Nice.

“He’s a great signing for us because he hasn’t had the last 12-18 months that he wanted,” said Rowett. “He has been at a very, very good club and then he’s had a loan that hasn’t worked out for different reasons – quite a few who joined (Nice) in that period didn’t play as much as they wanted.

“He’s hungry. He wants to come somewhere he has the chance to play games and a chance to make a difference.

“He wants to get that feeling back of being important in a team. I think he will be.

“He has got good quality and good athleticism. He can play left-back, left wing-back and I’ve seen him play left midfield for Bristol.

“He is a good addition down that side and probably one we didn’t think we’d get, because I think virtually every club in the Championship was interested in Joe.”

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson recently praised Bryan’s honesty for expressing his doubts about a return to Ashton Gate when the pair held talks.

“Sometimes you have a conversation with a player and he takes what he needs from that conversation,” said Rowett, about Millwall’s own negotiations with Bryan, who is one game shy of 200 in the Championship.

“It is an area, at this moment in time, where we have got Murray (Wallace) down the left who can play in that position but Murray can play deeper as a centre-back and as a left-sided centre-back – which I believe is his best position.

“Joe’s a little more attacking and plays further forward. It’s a good complement of players.

“He gives us flexibility to play different systems. It’s probably just right time, right place – location-wise I think it works.

“I think players see us as a club that have been very, very close to promotion and because of that, for a long period of time, we’re an exciting club to join. That’s probably the crux of it.”

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