Millwall retire number 20 shirt in Sarkic's memory

Matija Sarkic played 33 games for Millwall last season after joining them in the summer of 2023

Millwall will retire their number 20 shirt in memory of goalkeeper Matija Sarkic who died in June, aged 26.

Sarkic joined the Lions from Wolves in August 2023 and made 33 appearances last season.

The club plan to honour the Montenegro international, who would have turned 27 on Tuesday, prior to their Championship season-opener against Watford on 10 August.

A mural painting of Sarkic is also being planned at the Den while a "Matija Sarkic Award" will launch in 2024-25, for fans to vote for their top save of the season.

Sarkic was born in Grimsby and began his career playing youth football for Belgian side Anderlecht before joining Aston Villa.

He signed for Wolves in 2020 and had loan spells across his career with clubs including Wigan, Shrewsbury Town, Birmingham City - where he made 23 appearances on loan during the 2021-22 season - and Stoke City before his move to Millwall.

'We're still waiting for him to walk through the door' - Honeyman

George Honeyman, middle, said he did not think Millwall's players would ever fully get over the loss of Sarkic

The Millwall squad are currently on a pre-season tour in Spain, where they face Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and Real Murcia on Friday.

Speaking ahead of the game to BBC Radio London, midfielder George Honeyman said he did not think the players would ever fully get over the loss of Sarkic.

"It's a weird one in football because people come and go every off-season, so in a weird sense we're kind of still just waiting for him to walk through the door," the 29-year-old said.

"And, you know, give the lads a big hug, see how your off-season's been, all the normal sort of craic."

Sarkic's breakthrough in the Millwall first team came in December when he replaced regular first-choice goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski under then-head coach Joe Edwards.

He made 33 appearances in all competitions as the club won their last five league games to comfortably avoid relegation and end the season 13th in the Championship.

"Obviously, I think we're looking forward to celebrating him with the fans on the first game back at The Den," Honeyman added.

"It's a work in progress, and I don't think many of us have had many experiences of this sort, so that's where we need each other and the staff.

"It's tough. The lads are up and down with it, but we're a pretty tight-knit group, so we'll take comfort in that we've got each other."