On Saturday, Millwall confirmed the departure of academy graduate Romain Esse as he left for bitter rivals Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £14.5 million.
Crystal Palace will be only too pleased at their acquisition of the skilful 19-year-old; Millwall, on the other hand, will now be frantically trying to replace their ‘starboy’ before the January deadline day, in just over a week’s time.
Millwall’s unsteady league position will be a major factor in their recruitment.
With Millwall currently sitting in 17th place in the Sky Bet Championship and only four points away from the league’s bottom three, the club’s recruitment in the remainder of this window has to be ‘spot on’ in order to confirm their place in the league for the 25/26 season.
Louie Barry – Aston Villa (loan)
Louie Barry is a player that has been linked with a host of Championship clubs since he was recalled from his loan spell at Stockport County by parent club Aston Villa, Millwall being one of them.
Barry would be an exceptional signing at The Den after he has proven himself at League One level already this season, scoring 15 goals in 23 League One appearances and assisting on two occasions.
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw – Southampton (loan)
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw is a young, skilful winger, just like Romain Esse, and could be the perfect replacement for Esse.
Currently playing for the Saint’s academy in the Premier League 2, he has scored two goals and got one assist in 5 appearances. As well as making four professional appearances. He has played 26 minutes of Premier League football this season across two games.
Amo-Ameyaw, who was born in London, started in the Carabao Cup 1st round in Southampton’s 5-2 win over Championship side Cardiff City. He scored one of Southampton’s 5 goals.
Thelo Aasgaard – Wigan Athletic (permanent)
Primarily an attacking midfielder, Aasgaard can also play on the left or right wing, which he could do as cover until Aidomo Emakhu returns from injury, before moving into the attacking midfield position for the Lions.
So far this season, the 22-year-old has scored 11 goals and got two assists in all competitions. Seven of those goals and both assists came in Sky Bet League One.
With a potential release clause in his contract, hinted at by the news outlet Wigan today, it could be a good opportunity for Millwall to activate that and put some of the Esse money to very good use.
The Norway U21 player has previously had clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers interested in him, and Wigan’s manager, Shaun Maloney, is “counting down the days until the window shuts.”
Alassana Jatta – Notts County (permanent)
Alassana Jatta could prove to be a good signing for Millwall, as the creative player has played 20 League Two games this season and has chipped in with 17 goal contributions during those games (12 goals with five assists.)
With Jatta still being relatively young at 26 years old, the Gambian international who scored against Comoros during the November international break still has a few years until he enters his prime, and making a step up to the championship now could be a great move for him.
Millwall have got a good relationship with Notts County, having already signed last season’s League Two top goalscorer, Macaulay Langstaff, from them in the summer—who hasn’t lived up to the hopes people had when he made the step up.
Tyrique George – Chelsea (loan)
To say Tyrique George would be an ambitious signing for Millwall would be an understatement, but it would be a good one at that.
Having played for Chelsea in the Europa Conference League this season, George is still waiting to make his Premier League debut.
A championship loan could be the perfect destination for the 18-year-old, with Chelsea Head Coach Enzo Maresca, who previously worked in the Championship and gained promotion with Leicester City.
Who should Millwall choose from this list?
The best choice would be to sign Wigan’s Thelo Aasgaard. His versatility of playing on either flank or in the attacking midfield position is a great opportunity for Millwall to take advantage of, and at his young age of 22 years old, he can still develop along with producing top performances at club level, which could see Millwall sell him on for an even bigger fee in years to come.