Millwall centre-back Shaun Hutchinson hoping Jed Wallace extends his Den stay
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk
Shaun Hutchinson is hoping that Jed Wallace will sign a contract extension at Millwall.
The Lions have opened negotiations with the 27-year-old, who will only have 12 months left on his Den terms at the end of June.
Millwall have previously tied down the likes of Hutchinson and Jake Cooper to long-term deals.
And youngsters Danny McNamara and Billy Mitchell have also committed their futures, the latter putting pen to paper earlier this week.
Millwall have a number of senior pros who are in the final months of their contracts – Alex Pearce, Shaun Williams, Matt Smith, Shane Ferguson and Frank Fielding.
“Since I’ve been here there has been a core of players who have been important in keeping the Millwall way alive,” said Hutchinson, inset, who has made 180 appearances for the South London club since arriving on a free transfer in 2016.
“They have kept all the new signings understanding what it means to be playing for Millwall. That is important.
“Jed has been a matchwinner on a lot of occasions for us. He has got that bit of magic to unlock teams. And matchwinners are really difficult to find, at times.
“If someone like Jed can be tied down for longer it would be good to have him alongside me and also great for the club to know that he is going to be here for the future, not just for the short term.
“He is a big, big, very influential player in the dressing room. You need a mix and he definitely brings something to the dressing room.”
Wallace has been the club’s standout attacker in the last three seasons.
Millwall will face a dilemma if they cannot extend the former Portsmouth and Wolves attacker’s contract as he would be able to leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.
The last high-profile exit in that manner was Lee Gregory. The Lions did activate a 12-month option on the Sheffield-born striker to ensure he completed five campaigns in SE16, but he then opted to join Stoke City in June 2019.