ALEX Neil said Millwall are pleased with the business they completed this transfer window, explaining what the Lions’ latest signings will bring and why he believes the club are well covered at the top of the pitch.
Millwall added three players in January: goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, winger Tommy Watson and midfielder Barry Bannan, and rejected several bids for star winger Femi Azeez.
Aidomo Emakhu was sold to Oxford United, while Wes Harding and Kamarl Grant were loaned to Plymouth Argyle and Blackpool, respectively. Youngsters Ajay Matthews and Jack Howland also moved out on loan, joining Leyton Orient and Barnet.
“I’m pleased with the squad,” Neil told NewsAtDen. “I think we’re pleased with the business that we’ve done. All in all, we’re happy.”
Bannan made his debut against Sheffield United last Saturday, coming off the bench in the 70th minute. A day later, the Lions completed loan deals for Patterson and Watson.
“Patterson’s been at the level,” Neil said. “He’s calm. When everything’s sort of chaotic around him, he’s calm; he makes vital saves.
“He’s got an understanding of what the play-offs look like. He’s got an understanding of what big games look like. He’s been promoted before, twice. I think that helps. But more importantly, we brought him in as well, in the fact that we need the extra competition, in that area of the pitch, which is important.”
“Tom Watson is a really talented kid. Still young, got all his best years ahead of him, but again, had big moments as a young player, albeit limited in terms of time. Definitely got quality and hopefully can add an extra strength to our bow going forward.”
Millwall did attempt to do more business. They were interested in 20-year-old Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri, who completed a move to Wrexham on deadline day.
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Neil was asked if there was any disappointment that the club did not add a striker in the window.
“I don’t think there’s any disappointment in the window in general,” Neil said. “The simple fact is that some deals happen, and some deals don’t happen for a variety of different reasons.
“Now that we’ve got Josh Coburn back, we’ve got Mihailo [Ivanovic] firing, we’ve got Macca [Langstaff], who’s been playing recently, we’ve got three strikers. That’s not including other guys that we could arguably put up there if we needed to. From that perspective, we’ve got more than enough players at the top end of the pitch at the moment.”
not sure about Macca, not scoring goals