Millwall

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of Millwall forward Romain Esse.

Two sources with knowledge of the deal say it is close to being done after the Eagles showed interest in the 19-year-old early in the window.

Sources at Millwall have acknowledged that Palace are front of the queue when it comes to getting a deal done with a number of teams interested in Esse's services.

Millwall manager Alex Neil spoke about Palace's interest in Esse earlier this week and said it would take 'significant money' for the Eagles to complete a signing this month.

There has been interest in England U20 forward Esse for a while and he signed a new deal with the Lions in August.

Esse has five goals and one assist in 25 games for Millwall this season.

Palace are looking to sign a left wing-back and an attacker during this transfer window and alongside Esse have shown an interest in Liverpool loanee Ben Doak.

Image source, Rex Features

Several Championship clubs will be playing close attention to comments from Aston Villa boss Unai Emery about attacking midfielder Louie Barry.

The 21-year-old has been recalled by Villa this week after a stellar loan spell with League One Stockport, where he scored 16 goals this season.

Leeds, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Middlesbrough, Millwall and Coventry are among the clubs reported to be keen on taking Barry for a stint in the second tier for the remainder of the campaign.

Speaking ahead of Villa's FA Cup third round clash with West Ham, Emery said: "(Barry) trained with us and we are going to make a plan with him, an overall plan,

"I think he is a very good player who is progressing well. He has been on loan doing fantastic. Now we can have a new plan with him.

"He improved because he was scoring a lot of goals on loan. With us he only trained today and yesterday. Of course we are going to try and get a good plan for the club with him."

Image source, Rex Features

Millwall welcome National League side Dagenham & Redbridge to The Den in Monday's FA Cup third round tie (19:30 GMT).

• The only previous meetings between Millwall and Dagenham & Redbridge came in the 2011-12 FA Cup – the Lions won a third-round replay 5-0 following a 0-0 draw in the initial tie.

• Dagenham & Redbridge are winless in all seven of their FA Cup matches against sides from the top two tiers of English football (D2 L5), failing to score in five of those games.

• Having won five consecutive FA Cup third round ties between 2016-17 and 2020-21, Millwall have been eliminated at this stage of the competition in each of the past three campaigns.

• This is Dagenham & Redbridge's seventh appearance in the FA Cup third round, and first since 2015-16 (0-2 vs Everton). They've progressed from just one of the previous six, knocking out Plymouth Argyle in 2002-03.

• Millwall have progressed from their past 10 FA Cup ties against non-league opponents, since a 1-0 home loss to Woking in 1996-97 (first round replay).

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Millwall Under-21 midfielder Ra'ess Bangura-Williams has signed a new "long-term" contract with the Championship club.

The 20-year-old is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Lions but was part of the squad that drew 0-0 at Coventry City last month.

Bangura-Williams joined the club in December 2023 after a successful trial period. He has made 15 appearances for the U21s this season, scoring five goals.

"We're delighted Ra'ees has committed his long-term future to the club," academy director Scott Fitzgerald told the Millwall website., external

"He's a player we've worked with for 18 months now, and we've seen some great development so far, we hope that there is a lot more to come from him."

On Thursday, Millwall head coach Alex Neil confirmed the club had received concrete interest from Premier League Crystal Palace for winger Romain Esse.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace are interested in Millwall winger Romain Esse.

The 19-year-old is being tracked by the Eagles this window along with Liverpool loanee Ben Doak.

Sources around Millwall believe there is interest from multiple clubs in Esse, who signed a new deal with the Lions in August.

According to one source, Esse has a release clause in his contract and it will take that to be triggered for the attacker to make a move this month.

The England Under-20 international has five goals and one assist in 25 games for Millwall this season.

Palace are looking to sign a left wing-back and an attacker during this transfer window to bolster the options available to manager Oliver Glasner.

Crystal Palace have made Millwall winger Romain Esse a priority signing target after the 19-year-old attracted the attention of Eagles sporting director Dougie Freedman. (South London Press, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column.

Millwall and Hull City are interested in Nottingham Forest defender Willy Boly, who appears to be out of favour with Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo after only making four Premier League appearances for the top tier side this season. (AfricaFoot - in French, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column.

Image source, Rex Features

Millwall boss Alex Neil said his side's response to being outplayed in the first half of the 2-2 draw agaimst Sheffield Wednesday was "brilliant".

The Lions trailed 1-0 at Hillsborough to Yan Valery's early strike and the Owls missed several great chances to increase their lead, notably when Ike Ugbo missed a penalty.

Goals from George Honeyman and Ryan Wintle saw Millwall lead 2-1, but Gabriel Otegbayo's strike earned the hosts a point.

"Based on the game, it's a great point," Neil said. "In the first half we didn't do well enough; we were fortunate it was only 1-0.

"We had a chat at half-time and responded brilliantly. We scored two goals and made it much more difficult for Sheffield Wednesday - albeit they did have their chances.

"Once you go 2-1 up, you are naturally disappointed that you don't see the game out, because defensively we are particularly strong.

"The goals are disappointing, particularly from a set-play because we should spot the ball slipped down the side and, if we do that, we can defend our box and go on and get three points."

Millwall head to Hillsborough on Saturday for their first away match under new boss Alex Neil (15:00 GMT).

Neil began his reign with a 1-0 home defeat by Oxford United on New Year's Day and will be hoping for a brighter outcome against Sheffield Wednesday as the Lions look over their shoulder at the drop zone.

However the Owls are in fine form, with forward Josh Windass' stunning goal from inside his own half helping them to a thrilling 4-2 win over Derby County on 1 January.

The victory took them up into ninth on the Championship table, just three points short of a play-off spot.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost three of their last four league meetings with Millwall (W1), having only lost two of the previous 14 (W6 D6).

• Following a 3-0 home win in August this season, Millwall will be looking to record a league double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since the 2002-03 season under Mark McGhee.

• This is the first time both of Sheffield Wednesday's first two league games of a calendar year have come at home since 2017, when they drew 0-0 with Wolves before beating Huddersfield 2-0.

• Millwall have won just one of their 11 away league games this season (D6 L4), scoring just five goals across their last 10 on the road, since losing 3-4 to Bristol City on MD2.

• Millwall manager Alex Neil has won just one of his last eight league games as a manager away to Yorkshire opposition, beating Hull 3-0 with Stoke in September 2022. That run includes a 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday with Preston in January 2021.

Image source, Getty Images

New Millwall boss Alex Neil believes there were encouraging signs from his first match in the dugout despite losing to Oxford United.

Neil, who took over on Monday, insisted he had learned plenty from the defeat, which leaves the Lions with just one win in their past 11 matches.

"I learned a lot from the fact we've not been the type of team who dominates the ball, and you can see that, and you can hear that," he said.

"The minute we were maybe making two or three passes along the back, there was a little bit of agitation in the crowd.

"I think for all the volume, our opportunities we had in wide areas, I looked at the stats and we had double the amount of final-third entries, we had double the amount of touches in the box, but we just didn't have that killer instinct to get the goal when we needed it."

He added: "You could see the disappointment in the lads after the game, where we've lost a match. I didn't think it was a poor performance, I thought there were some really good bits to like about it, but there's certainly stuff for us to work on."

Millwall are next in action with an away game at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

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There will be no immediate changes at Millwall, says new head coach Alex Neil.

The former Norwich and Sunderland boss has been appointed on a "long-term contract" at The Den, replacing Neil Harris who left the club earlier this month.

"It's as thorough a recruitment process as I've ever been through," Neil told the Millwall website., external

"It was about me trying to paint my vision for the club and also where I see it at the moment and the things I think I can develop and help with."

Neil has won promotions when in charge of Hamilton Academical, Norwich and Sunderland and says Millwall is more of a long-term project.

"It's going to be a gradual process - there won't be wholesale changes overnight - there's a lot of good players here and a good group of younger players emerging so it's getting the balance right.

"I'm a big believer in developing young players but you need good quality senior players around that to make it work, so that will be key."

Millwall are currently 13th in the Championship table, eight points short of the play-offs and eight clear of the relegation zone.

"You want to always set your bar as high as possible - I'm not saying our aim right now is to get promoted this season but if we can hit a good run then there's no reason why we can't be competing for the play-offs," Neil said.

His first game in charge will be at home to Oxford United on New Year's Day.

Image source, Rex Features

Assistant boss Adam Barrett has left Millwall in the wake of head coach Neil Harris' departure earlier this month.

Barrett had been part of the coaching team at The Den since 2017 and was twice placed in interim charge - in 2019 and again last year.

"We've experienced the joys of promotion from League One together to now being an established, competitive Championship side," he told the club website. , external

"I have learnt so much throughout, and now feel the time is right to pursue my aspiration of becoming a head coach or manager elsewhere."

David Livermore has been acting boss since Harris left the club, but former Norwich, Preston, Sunderland and Stoke manager Alex Neil has been tipped to take over on a permanent basis.

Phil Parry
BBC Radio London reporter

Image source, Rex Features

What do Millwall need?

Many fans may well say that some strengthening is needed in various departments. Goals have been at a premium and despite breaking the club's transfer record on a striker in the summer more firepower is needed.

They could also do with some help at the back as well with another central defender.

What sort of business are they likely to do?

Assessing what business will be done is difficult without knowing who the new head coach is. The season's start had put the Lions in a good position to look upwards but they can't be complacent.

Quite a bit of business was done in the summer eventually and a similar recruitment route of loan deals and gems may be on the cards.

How successful have they been in previous January windows?

They have no been big players in recent years in the January market although two seasons ago Duncan Watmore and Aidomo Emakhu both arrived mid-season and have subsequently shown that they have something to offer to the team.

Are there likely to be any notable departures?

In terms of a potential higher-profile departure, young forward Romain Esse is said to be attracting attention from Premier League clubs.

There might be a move or two for players not seen as long-term options in order to free up space in the squad.

How key is the window?

It has the possibility to push the club on, but the biggest priority at the moment is to get a head coach in place.

Coventry City host Millwall in a mid-table Championship clash on Sunday.

The Sky Blues are 15th in the division but have picked up three wins in their past five fixtures, while the Lions are two places higher but have just a single victory from their past eight.

In their last head-to-head, Frank Lampard picked up his first win as Coventry boss courtesy of a 1-0 away day triumph.

• Coventry City have won their last four league games against Millwall, their best ever winning run against the Lions.

• Millwall have lost their last league visits to Coventry since a 1-0 win in December 2021 under manager Gary Rowett.

• Coventry City have not ended their calendar year with a win in any of the last four years (D2 L2) since a 4-1 win over Wycombe in 2019.

• Millwall are unbeaten in their final league game of the year in each of the last nine years (W7 D2) since losing 2-0 to Bournemouth in 2014.

• Coventry's Frank Lampard won against Millwall earlier this month at the Den but his only previous home league game against the Lions resulted in a 1-0 defeat in February 2019 when he was at Derby County.