'Deal agreed': Millwall to sell 'vital' talisman to Championship rivals

Millwall have agreed a deal to sell striker Tom Bradshaw to Championship rivals Oxford United, where he will reunite with former Lions boss Gary Rowett.

The move has been in the offing this week and EFL transfer specialist Pete O'Rourke took to social media platform X on Wednesday afternoon to announce that an agreement has been completed. He wrote: "Oxford have agreed a deal to sign Millwall forward Tom Bradshaw."

That confirmation comes after news of a medical for the 32-year-old on Tuesday. Bradshaw was not part of the matchday squad for the London club's FA Cup meeting with Dagenham & Redbridge on Monday night.

Millwall to sell ‘senior statesman’ to rivals

The forward has played 210 times for Millwall since joining from Barnsley in August 2018 and has bagged 45 goals for the club.

The player missed a chunk of the season between August and November due to a serious hamstring injury picked up in the Carabao Cup defeat to Leyton Orient in August. Bradshaw had been linked with a summer exit from The Den but stayed with glowing praise from former Millwall boss Neil Harris.

Harris said: "Tom’s going to be here. There’s been a lot of press around Tom but no substance whatsoever. So I’ll just make that very clear to you guys that all press elements seem to want to write something about Tom Bradshaw but there’s absolutely no substance whatsoever to it.

“Bradders has a huge part to play at this football club. He’s a senior statesman of the centre forward line at present and he’s got a huge role to play with us. He’s a great personality, good leadership skills. He’s infectious, he’s got energy still even as he’s getting older. So he’s not quite as quick as he used to be but he’s got great energy and desire and on the training pitch he has great knowledge of how to be a Millwall number nine. And that’s vital for us. From the start of games he’ll be vital for us [and] off the bench."

Gary Rowett hints at Tom Bradshaw transfer

However, the forward's time in London is now up ahead of the move to Oxford United. The U's sit 17th in the Championship table and are on an impressive run of form since Rowett came in to replace Des Buckingham.

Oxford United are unbeaten in their last five league fixtures, winning three and drawing two. Rowett picked up three points when taking his side to face his former club at The Den on New Year's Day.

When asked about potential Oxford transfer interest in Bradshaw, Rowett said: "He's the type of player that certainly I know very well. I worked with him for years, he's got incredible enthusiasm, he presses really well, diligent, scores goals - he scored 17 goals in the Championship for me about 18 months ago.

"We've a group of players that we want to look at the model which has been very successful for Oxford, which is helping develop players, helping them to improve and have an opportunity to build assets whilst building performance. But I think in this division you also need players that know the level and know what you require.

"I think this window is going to be a little bit of a blend of those, but Tom would certainly be a great addition for us."