"Won't be surprised" - Alex Neil issues big Millwall FC, Mihailo Ivanovic prediction following Portsmouth exploits | OneFootball

Millwall manager Alex Neil has lauded Mihailo Ivanovic after the Serbian striker scored both goals to inspire his side's 2-1 win over Portsmouth

Millwall boss Alex Neil has revealed he wouldn't be surprised if people started "talking" about Mihailo Ivanovic after the Serbian striker scored a dramatic brace to inspire his side's 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions claimed their seocnd successive home win inbetween last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland by seeing off Portsmouth in what was a frantic second-half of action.

Ivanovic gave the hosts the lead just shy of the hour mark by meeting George Honeyman's corner to head home past Nicolas Schmid, but his goal was levelled out when Andre Dozzell struck 10 minutes from time.

However, Ivanovic reinstalled Millwall into the ascendancy on the 87th minute, connecting with Casper De Norre's delivery to score his second of the match and eighth of the season.

The 20-year-old is justifying the hype and potential after arriving as Millwall's then-club-record signing just last summer in a reported £3 million deal from Serbian outfit Voljvodina. Naturally, time was required for Ivanovic to adjust to the demands of the Championship but the striker has been in especially encouraging form following the appointment of Alex Neil, and has scored seven goals thus far in 2025.

Ivanovic has nine goals for the Lions overall, eight of which have come in league action. The highly-rated frontman could yet inspire Millwall to a late play-off finish, but the Lions already have one eye on the long-term picture.

Alex Neil's Millwall FC, Mihailo Ivanovic prediction

Speaking in the wake of Millwall's Ivanovic-inspired victory over Pompey, Neil tipped the youngster for big things.

The Lions boss believes people will soon start talking about Ivanovic, who he regards as a top talent and believes is deserving of considerable credit for leading the line in the second-tier with great aplomb at such a young age.

Neil told the Southwark News: "Any twenty-year-old that leads the line in the Championship and he’ll get double figures before the end of the season - if you do that, that’s an unbelievable season and it won’t be surprising me if people start talking about him.

“I think there’s already something I’ve seen the other day about top ten young talents in Europe. He’s one of them. He’s 20 years of age. There’s very, very few strikers at that age that’ll lead the line at this level and also score goals. He deserves all the plaudits he deserves.

"I think there was something on the Sky app I saw the other day and it was talking about I think under-twenty-year-olds that have made such an impact and he was one of the ten.

"It didn’t come from me, it came through somebody else who wrote the article. I just read it.

"I agree at the moment he’s having a great season. I agree that he’s 20 years of age, he’s leading the line in the Championship. There won’t be too many doing that just now."

Millwall FC could land huge Mihailo Ivanovic transfer profit amid Alex Neil revelation

It's entirely reasonable why Neil believes it's only going to be a matter of time before Ivanovic is seriously discussed and begins to gain wider attention.

There's a solid argument to suggest his exploits this season have gone under the radar - away from Millwall circles, of course - though he will be expected to simply get better and better and could be explosive in 25/26.

Ivanovic is going from strength to strength and already appears to represent an inspired buy at just £3 million. Millwall could easily treble that, at least, in the not-too-distant future if his current trajectory continues and the thought of that potential windfall may leave the Lions hierarchy licking their lips heading into next season and beyond.