Football League World
·30 March 2023
Football League World
·30 March 2023
Millwall attempted a move for Stoke City attacker Jacob Brown during the January transfer window but it fell through, according to a report from The Telegraph.
With both Isaac Olaofe and Benik Afobe departing the club during the early stages of the winter window, the club were in need of increasing their attacking firepower in the final third and were seemingly fully focused on ensuring that they had enough options in this area.
Although Aidomo Emakhu had linked up with the Lions, he wasn't guaranteed to be a key part of Gary Rowett's plans straight away and with this, arguably needed a more senior option to arrive at The Den.
Unfortunately for them, they experienced some bad luck in the market with a move for Hibernian's Kevin Nisbet falling through and they were unable to get a deal over the line for Queens Park Rangers and Scotland star Lyndon Dykes either.
A record £2.5m deal for Nisbet had been agreed according to the Daily Record, but that deal unexpectedly fell through, forcing the Lions to act late on in the window and secure an alternative target instead with Oliver Burke returning to the English capital.
The reason why remains undisclosed - but the Lions also failed to recruit Brown after targeting the 24-year-old.
The Verdict:
You can understand why the Lions targeted a move for Brown because at 24, he still has plenty of time to improve but already has a decent amount of Championship experience under his belt.
The Lions' careful spending in recent years probably would have allowed them to submit a sizeable bid to Stoke for his services and they were probably smart to target the Potters, because they were prepared to sell star defender Harry Souttar, possibly to keep them within financial limits.
Recording seven goals and two assists in 37 competitive appearances this term, that isn't a hugely impressive record but it would have certainly been valuable for the Lions in their quest for promotion, with his presence potentially helping to take pressure off Zian Flemming
Flemming has been an excellent contributor this term but the Lions can't always rely on him to come up with the goods - and thankfully for Rowett - others have also been able to step up to the plate and impress.
For Brown, this may have been a tempting move considering Stoke have underachieved in recent years, but was it enough of a step up for him to be tempted enough to make this switch?