Gary Rowett speaks out on Millwall’s fifth summer signing

Millwall have completed the signing of Jamie Shackleton on a season-long loan from Leeds United, as was announced on the club’s website this afternoon.

The 22-year-old struggled for regular minutes at the back end of 2021/22 under Jesse Marsch and should relish the opportunity to return to the Championship as a key player at The Den.

Shackleton has made 78 appearances for his boyhood club, including 27 in the Premier League, and has two years remaining on his deal at Elland Road.

The Lions are slowly but surely assembling a very impressive squad to take on the second tier, in their first campaign of the post-Jed Wallace era in South Bermondsey.

Gary Rowett explained what he believes Shackleton can offer when he spoke to the club’s website.

He said: “Jamie is one we’ve been aware of for a couple of weeks.

“He’s a great addition for us.

“He has bags of energy and good experience for a 22-year-old.

“He’s played well over 50 games for Leeds and now he’ll be looking for more regular gametime – a lot of those have come through impacting the game late on.

“He’s got great energy.

“The beauty for me is that he is a player who offers you energetic, non-stop play in the middle of the pitch.

“That’s his best position, in my opinion, in one of those three midfield positions – either the two deeper ones or the number 10.

“However, he’s also played at right-back and right-wing-back in the Premier League, so he offers flexibility.”

Another play-off push will be expected of the Lions this season, with the depth of the squad certainly looking more impressive than it has done in recent years.

The Verdict

This is another very shrewd piece of business to go along with the additions of Charlie Cresswell, Zian Flemming, Benik Afobe and George