Striker explains Millwall U-turn as he rejects Alex Neil for £4.3m deadline day transfer

Add as preferred source on Google

As far as deadline day additions go, Championship supporters may be hard pushed finding a more impressive deal than the one Millwall secured to bring in Will Smallbone on loan from Southampton.

In comes a midfielder who secured promotion out of England’s second tier in his most recent season at this level, playing 43 of 46 league matches along the way while scoring six goals from midfield.

Furthermore, ambitious, big-spending Birmingham City and Wrexham were interested in Smallbone too. The latter even lodged a £7.5 million bid, according to reports.

No wonder Steve Gallen, Millwall’s director of football, admits he was a little taken aback having pulled off an almighty coup signing a footballer who ‘we didn’t think would be available’ during the final days of the transfer window.

Yet, while a couple of really eye-catching additions have boosted the confidence at the perennial overachievers, one addition they did not manage to get over the line was former Hammarby striker Jusef Erabi.

Though not for a lack of trying.

Jusef Erabi explains Millwall U-turn as striker signs for Genk

Fabrizio Romano reported on August 27th that Millwall had bid £4.3 million for Jusef Erabi. They were not, however, the only club who met Hammarby’s asking price.

According to Swedish publication Fotboll Skanalen, Erabi had decided to join the Lions on Friday, only to perform a dramatic U-turn shortly afterwards once KRC Genk had entered the fray.

Genk’s official website even confirmed, once a four-year deal had been signed, that Erabi turned down ‘considerable interest from England’ in favour of a club offering Europa League football.

“KRC Genk is a big club that exudes enormous ambition and is constantly looking to grow,” Erabi said when explaining his decision to row back on a move to Millwall, European football clearly a big factor.

“That perfectly suits my character.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the supporters and making them happy with my passion on the pitch, with goals and with many victories, both in the league and in Europe.”

While hardly the most prolific of goalscorers, he hit the target only six times in 22 appearances in Sweden’s top flight last season, both Genk and Millwall obviously saw plenty of potential in a 22-year-old with plenty of time on his side.

“Jusef is a striker who leads the line with great commitment and intensity, always looking for goals,” smiles Head of Football Dimitri de Conde.

“He’s the kind of player supporters come to the stadium to see.”

Alex Neil admitted transfer speculation was distracting for Mihailo Ivanovic and co

On the upside, Millwall hung onto their current star striker after Leicester City were quoted £10 million for Mihailo Ivanovic. Josh Coburn strengthens Alex Neil’s attack too after Millwall agreed a club-record deal with Middlesbrough worth a reported £5 million.

Southwark News claims that a bid was rejected from Serie A outfit Parma for Ivanovic, meanwhile. Neil will presumably be delighted to see the window close, missing out on Erabi offset by their success in keeping Ivanovic.

“The window hasn’t been helpful for us, if I’m being honest,” Neil said after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Wrexham. “I think at the moment, it’s certainly distracting for some of the lads. You can’t help it, you know?

“If you’re a young lad and there’s talk of you might be going somewhere or your agent’s in your ear or whatever the case may be. The problem we’ve got, is we can’t affect that. But the window closing will certainly be helpful for us, I think.”