Millwall handed fresh Mihailo Ivanovic concern as interested club in 'talks' over big sale

Millwall have received fresh cause for concern over their star striker Mihailo Ivanovic amid transfer interest this summer. Ivanovic was a statement investment for the Lions 2024, arriving for around £2.8million, and he proved to be a wise signing.

The Serbian has scored 13 times in 38 league appearances for Millwall so far and he is already building a reputation as one of the most dangerous Championship strikers at just 20 years of age.

Interest was inevitable heading into this summer, and it seems Serie A side Parma are the main club interested. Gazzetta di Parma reported recently that Millwall are asking for around £13.8million to sell their star striker, and that initially looked to be enough to dissuade Parma.

But ParmaToday are now reporting that the Italian club could circle back around for a deal on the condition they sell Simon Sohm. It’s claimed Ivanovic is Parma’s dream target, and they could push for a deal if they sell Sohm for around £13million as hoped. It’s claimed they are in talks with Fiorentina over a possible sale.

That will be concerning to Millwall, who were a whisker away from securing a playoff spot last season. Ivanovic will be seen as key to Alex Neil’s plans for the new season, and while a deal at the reported price would represent a giant profit that would be a positive for the club long-term, it would be a clear blow in sporting terms heading into the new season.

Speaking earlier this summer, Millwall boss Neil said when asked about the interest in his striker: “I know there’s a lot of speculation, as there always is, whether it be with Japhet or whether it be with Mihailo or whether it be with anybody else.

“We are not actively looking to try and sell anyone. We want to try and retain the squad, and we want to try and grow and build and be good this season. Equally, if somebody comes in with offers that are way beyond what we would maybe have as an evaluation of a player, then certain decisions may well get made. What I will tell you is we have no ambitions or certainly no effort is going into trying to move any of our players. We want to keep them here. We like them. We think they’ve got real growth in terms of them individually, but also us as a team. And we want to try and make sure this year is a good year for us.”

Millwall defeat Wimbledon

Millwall are now underway in pre-season, and in their latest friendly, their fourth, to be exact, they defeated AFC Wimbledon 3-0. “I thought there were plenty of positives,” Neil told Southwark News after the game. “The goals were the biggest positive. I thought we could have scored more, especially in the first half. We had a few chances.

“These games are always difficult. What we don’t want to do is just turn the ball over and make it a fight. They are obviously direct in how they play, and they had great success with that last year. It’s not easy to play against. It’s tough – just one flick and you can be in trouble. First move of the game we lost the header, they got in behind and earned a corner straight from kick-off. Those are the bits we want to minimise and avoid, and I thought we did that after that moment.”

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