Millwall in market for proven quality in January transfer window

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Millwall will look to add a couple of players in the January transfer window but manager Gary Rowett is mindful of not upsetting the balance of his squad.

The Lions were sixth in the Championship table at the midway stage of their 2022-23 campaign before last night’s Den fixture against Bristol City.

And Rowett wants additions that will kick on their play-off aspirations.

He told the South London Press: “Can we push to get a player in that can can really help us improve? We don’t need squad players and we don’t need depth in the squad. What we need is players who can come in and add that extra competition and extra quality to the starting 11.

“It’s not easy to do that but myself, Alex [Aldridge], Steve [Kavanagh] and John [Berylson] certainly will be looking at that and whether there is a player out there, or two, than can improve what we’re doing.

“We’ll always try to fit that into the profiles of what we want long term as well as short term.

“We hope to do one or two bits of business. It’s always a tricky window and it’s also tricky when you’re doing well, because you don’t want to upset the balance of your team and your group.

“But a sensible addition, the right kind of addition, would be something we’d look at. John is always open to that – if we can bring someone in now that strengthens us, and essentially it means we don’t need that position in the summer, then it is good forward planning.

“They are the sort of meetings we’ve had. We’ll try and be sensible in that approach for the right player. We’ll certainly looking at some good players and hoping we might be able to add them to the group.”

Rowett is also relaxed about possible interest in leading scorer Zian Flemming.

The Dutchman, a £1.7million signing from Fortuna Sittard in the summer, scored his 10th goal of the season in the 2-0 Boxing Day win at Watford.

“If players are performing well for you – and Zian has been – then there is always going to be interest,” said the Lions chief.

“He has just come into English football and just come into the Championship – you’ve seen how well he has adapted and his qualities – but he’s here to help us achieve something and also further his own career.

“I don’t think that is something I’m necessarily going to be sat there thinking about, or bothered about, in January.

“If a player had only scored two goals then you wouldn’t be asking that question but the fact he has done so well always highlights those qualities – not just to you and us, but everyone else.”