Millwall Boss Neil Praises Chairman For Rebuffing Town Bids
Tuesday, 3rd Feb 2026 20:58

Millwall boss Alex Neil has confirmed the Lions turned down Town bids for winger Femi Azeez in the closing days of the transfer window.

News emerged yesterday that the Blues had made a number of offers for the 24-year-old, the last of which some reports claim would have been a new record sale for the South Londoners.

But Millwall, one place and one point behind the Blues although having played a game more, refused to sell the former Northwood, Wealdstone, Hanwell Town (loan), Reading and Bracknell (loan) man.

“What it shows is we recognise how important Femi’s been to our team,” Neil told NewsAtDen.

“Ipswich are one point ahead of us currently. So it’s not as if we’re sitting in 12th, and we need to cash in.

“We’ve had a great season so far, and we’re continuing to have a great season, and I think keeping Femi certainly strengthens our hand.

“[Chairman] Jimmy [Berylson] deserves huge amounts of credit for sticking to his guns and allowing Femi to stay with us to the end of the season. We’re hoping that that’s going to pay dividends for him, for us, for everybody between now and the end.”

A year ago Millwall sold Romain Esse to Crystal Palace for a record £14.5 million fee.

“I think the biggest difference now is probably that we’ve got numerous assets right across the team,” Neil said, reflecting on why one deal was given the green light and the other not.

“I’m sure there were other players that would have had the opportunity to go elsewhere. There was certainly interest in other players we’ve got.

“But we spoke about it at length. There are times where it’s right to sell for the club, it’s right to sell for the player, and there are times where we need to focus on what we are trying to do at this moment in time, and whether we feel is better for the next short period of time to the summer.

“We feel we’ve got a great opportunity where we can go and do something quite special, and we want to try and give ourselves the best chance.

“It doesn’t mean that because we’ve done that, it’s going to happen, but it certainly helps. It gives us better options in terms of more depth, more strength, and hopefully keeping our best players for the remainder of this season.”

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bluesissy added 21:08 - Feb 3 Another winger? Really......just what we don't need
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itfc2024 added 21:28 - Feb 3 so we tried to sign another winger on deadline days wasting or that effort when that effort should have been focused on a striker im afraid this will come back to haunt us cos akpom azon or hirst ain't good enough to get us goals and we can't keep relying on philogene and clarke
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RetroBlue added 21:35 - Feb 3 Just what the hell are McKenna and Ashton doing? As for "trust the process" that ship sailed a long while ago .
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Stato added 21:35 - Feb 3 another beench warmer no better than what we have. Ashton and the recruitment team are getting more wrong than they are getting right. We should not have been chasing Bamford either. Heads will roll if the recruitment doesn't improve big time and that might include Ashton if he is not up to performing at elite level.
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VILJOEN67 added 21:45 - Feb 3

It seems odd to be going for another right sided wide man unless you were looking to offload one or more of Burns, Egeli or Mcateer. With regard to the striker it would need to be somebody who is better than what we have. We were obviously looking at someone of experience and greater quality. Bamford, Wilson, Surridge but its no good signing somebody who is not invested in the project. We have brought in strikers before at the end of a window to fill gaps in the squad. We now have a full squad. I hope Memheti will score the added goals we need just in behind the main striker. We would have thought Sammy and Chuba would have done so as former golden boot winners. Chuba may as yet.

budgieplucker added 21:57 - Feb 3

This does all seem very strange, with 7 existing options for two wide positions that we should really need another one unless there was some dependency like selling Billy Jean in a chain of movements.

We have a few players that can double up as number 10's in addition to Akpom and Nunez, but only two recognised out and out centre forwards, one with little experience of the English football and the other woefully out of form. This still glares as the weakest link in the team by afar, not necessarily in respect of just a low goal return but by providing a real physical threat against the central defenders and providing key assists.

armchaircritic59 added 23:29 - Feb 3

Well fair play to the Millwall chairman, so many just see Pound signs these days and can't wait to cash in. If the guy was a superstar I could understand our approach, but he isn't and we have almost as many wingmen as a flock of seagulls anyway. Most of us know what we really needed, but it isn't happening, now anyway. We will soldier on with what we've got, and hopefully it will be enough. If not I foresee lots of recriminations in 3 months or so's time.

jas0999 added 01:02 - Feb 4 Very bizarre. Doesn’t seem KM liked too many strikers. Likes a winger though!
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Granthamblue62 added 02:23 - Feb 4

Sadly, I am losing faith in this mythical 'process' that Ashton frequently bangs on about. Recruitment over the past 2 years has been patchy at best. Akpom, Azon and Hirst have had plenty of opportunities, but incredibly, all 3 are toothless in front of goal. I don't usually get drawn into stats, but I read recently that Hirst and Azon are very high on the Championship list of strikers missing chances. There is no way we're getting over the line with this lot of bang average players. I'm actually glad the Pompey game was called off. Wanted a break from watching 3 dire performances in a row!

JewellintheTown added 06:08 - Feb 4 Some on here don't seem to understand that our club employees have the ability to multi task. They don't just focus their efforts solely on an individual & if that doesn't come off they're stuck. We would have had more plates spinning than a Blackpool Circus performer. Dozens.
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KiwiTractor added 07:02 - Feb 4

I get the sentiment re getting in another striker given the current form - but it's a bit harsh having a go at MA for bringing in Akpom and Azon..... I for one was pretty happy when these two signed, and I think most other fans were too. The fact that Akpom hasn't hit the heights of his previous Championship season couldn't be foreseen and Azon is obviously taking some time to adjust - not surprisingly given his previous clubs/appearances.

Ipswich_Sniffer added 08:14 - Feb 4 Basically admitting they wasted millions on McAteer
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virginblue added 09:01 - Feb 4

I forgot just how many posters on here had turned a mediocre league 1 side into a team challenging for promotion to the PL again. In August many (including myself) were still wondering why we’d signed Philogene. Nobody doubting that signing now. We’re not going to hit on every signing, but those quoting Muric as a waste of money need to remember that we’re all but getting our money back on that one. Some on here have very short memories. It’s like those “fans” who text into Radio Suffolk after the game at the weekend. Apparently that’s the worst we’ve been in 20 years. Grow up.

virginblue added 09:06 - Feb 4 And another thing for those who think we should just be cruising to another promotion. Have you checked out how the other 2 relegated sides are doing? It’s not as simple as you all think it should be. Stability has been a crucial component in that.
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Thegeniusofmuhren added 09:13 - Feb 4

Hard not to be negative and clearly we don't know/see the bigger picture but no centre forward seems like a massive miss. Heavily reliant on Philogene and Clarke for goals. Hopefully Mehmeti can chip in!? We're clearly not building for an immediate return and will lose our best players if we don't. I loathe to say it but Wrexham are better placed than us to go up. I see them as an attractive prospect as I thought we were but recruitment suggests otherwise. Maybe I'll be proved wrong but I'm currently half glass empty!

itfc2024 added 09:16 - Feb 4 that's the problem when people see Wrexham as a better prospect than us our recruitment has been good in certain areas but the recruitment for a striker has been poor if george hirst is the best we can find then God help us but have we thought that maybe mckenna didn't want a decent striker as that would mean dropping one of his favourites
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itfc2024 added 09:22 - Feb 4 and do this mean us trying to sign another winger means mckenna don't trust who we have i don't blame him with mcateer worst 12 million the club has spent
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Orraman added 09:33 - Feb 4

The Holy Grail for most clubs is that rare species - the 20 goal a season striker. Currently this season with still a long way to go, our number 11 position has 22 goals although he goes by two different names - Philogene or Clarke. They play the same position are almost never on the field together so can realistically be looked at as one man. Let them keep on scoring while our number 9 continues to hassle defences and keep them occupied.
No need for recent paranoia over not signing another striker

Thegeniusofmuhren added 10:07 - Feb 4

Orraman - I think most fans concerns are when they're worked out and don't score, we have a goals shortage. It's the lack of another threat. We could've bought potential in the summer and coached them as that's what McK prides himself on or we could've bought the best in the Championship as a short term fix and sold back to a Championship club if we got promoted. It doesn't seem much of a gamble but it's all speculation and we don't know what goes on in the boardroom. I'll never not support the blues but it feels like we could miss a golden opportunity and next season will be tougher in the Championship.

Lightningboy added 10:22 - Feb 4 Shame cos we really needed another winger. #goodgrief
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Lightningboy added 10:28 - Feb 4

@VILJOEN67

Wouldn't surprise me if McKenna offloads Burns out of those 3....he seems to have a bit of the Mick McCarthy's about him when it comes to fan favourites...Morsy,Chaplin,Harry Clarke,Humphreys,Luongo,Burgess,Hladky,Broadhead,all more than decent at this level but given the boot.

I'm telling you,something ain't right at this club and hasn't been for 18 months.

Brogan55 added 10:59 - Feb 4 I think we need to keep our trust with the Club,after all we in with a chance of promotion.It seems that many people don’t understand why we got some players.So be it.Just keep on the journey and enjoy it!
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darkhorse28 added 11:08 - Feb 4

We have 9 players that can play 2 wide positions. NINE (including SS). One is the most expensive ever at this level.

Whether he’s better than those or not .., that’s a seriously dysfunctional recruitment process.., seriously dysfunctional.

There’s simply no vision or strategy, as measured by outcomes, it’s chaotic.

Sign as many as we can and cross fingers. When you consider we spent two windows not signing a CDM and still only have ONE contracted, and ONE contracted striker, it’s just bonkers.

We look like rabbits in headlights since we had generational resources, like a kid in a sweet shop .., no idea what we’re doing at all.

A list of EFL team of the year players and ones that play well against us, which by definition is a self selected group of players, probably not premier league quality (ever).

Sake - I was SO much happier under Mick, more than the sum of our parts, no money to spend. And the notion that if we did, we could be hugely successful.

This is worse. Loads of resources .., mostly wasted .., I can see the finishing line, but Mark Ashton keeps tying my shoe laces together, and hitting me with his WBA 1990 team photo (framed obviously).

It’s more painful being ‘less’ than the sum of our parts .., we are everything our legacy team wasn’t.

NINE - SS, Akpom, Burns, Clarke, Phil, Walle, McAteer, Johnson, Mehmeti, and Nunez could play in if required as could Leif and Azon. Half the squad can play those roles!

One natural striker, one CDM (also two positions).

We’ve lost the plot. There’s a stubborn streak a mile wide in this decision making group.

You can already see the seeds of the ‘blame game’ if this go’s south.

Brett called it ‘don’t piss in my boots and tell me it’s raining’

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Jack27 added 11:38 - Feb 4 Could it be that if we signed Femi Azeez then Walle Egeli would have been put upfront / used as a striker going forward?
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AndySav04 added 11:59 - Feb 4

Different Days to the McCarthy Era. Remember it well until one fate rule night against Brighton at Portman Road and a 3-0 Loss.
Still managed to create a beast in Daryl Murphy then created an unbelievable talent at LB in Ming’s who was also FREE.

A lot of talent although a different team in spirit and guts to the double promotion team in the Championship last time.
Morsy/Luongi were exceptional and so many players got up to five goals and then over 5 to 10.
We’re getting goal contributions from everyone meaning wins we’re coming from behind.