Millwall have made a number of key signings in the transfer window, including striker Kevin Nisbet and left-back Joe Bryan.
Gary Rowett’s side missed out on the Championship play-offs last season on the final day of the season when they were defeated 4-3 by Blackburn Rovers at The Den, but more was clearly needed in their squad to take them to the next level.
The marquee signing early on in the window was that of Kevin Nisbet, with the Hibernian striker joining the Lions for what was claimed to be a £2 million fee, having done a U-turn on the switch earlier on in the year in the January window.
Top flight experience was also added when left-sided player Joe Bryan signed on the dotted line in South Bermondsey, with Casper De Norre also joining from OH Leuven in Belgium.
A new number one was sourced in the form of Wolves stopper Matija Sarkic whilst defensive cover was added in ex-Rotherham man Wes Harding, with the remainder of Rowett’s additions coming in the loan market.
Right wing-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy joined from Arsenal whilst two deadline day deals were done for Ryan Longman of Hull City and Allan Campbell of Luton Town, giving the Millwall boss plenty of options.
But what about the players that could have potentially left the club in the window just gone? Let’s take a look at TWO individuals that perhaps had a chance of leaving or who are surprisingly still among Rowett’s options.
After a year-long pursuit, Millwall finally got their hands on Flemming last summer, breaking their transfer record on the Dutchman.
The Lions paid the best part of £1.7 million to Eredivisie outfit Fortuna Sittard for the attacking midfielder’s services, eclipsing the fee spent on Ryan Leonard, and his 15-goal haul in the Championship – which included a hat-trick against Preston North End – was obviously going to gain him admirers.
Burnley were the biggest pursuers of the 25-year-old over the summer months, with Vincent Kompany very keen to take Millwall’s number 10 to the Premier League, but they had FOUR offers turned down for his services, which clearly did not meet the hierarchy’s valuation.
The Clarets eventually moved on to other targets and whilst both Sevilla and Lazio were credited with interest, no other offers ever arrived for Flemming, and whilst it’s good that they stood firm with their price-tag, Flemming now has less than two years remaining on his contract, so they need to be wary of his situation.
Having joined from Shamrock Rovers in January, it wouldn’t have been a shock if young Irish forward Emakhu was loaned out to a League One or Two club in the summer.
As it happened though, Emakhu, who featured just the once last season against Burnley, was an option for Rowett at the start of the season and made an immediate impact with a great assist for Romain Esse’s goal against Middlesbrough, whilst also finding the back of the net himself against Norwich.
He did not come off the bench against Birmingham though and that could potentially be a sign of things to come due to the signing of Longman on deadline day – Emakhu isn’t going to get regular game-time unless he does special things consistently off the bench, so it may have been better off sending him to League One for a few months instead.