Millwall may live to regret selling striker at the start of 2023: View | OneFootball

Millwall will hope new manager Joe Edwards is the one who can lead them to the promised land of the Premier League.

Gary Rowett managed to turn Millwall from a bottom-half Championship side into play-off contenders during his time in charge of the club.

To do that, Rowett had to make several personnel changes throughout his time at the club, with players leaving the club to make way for his new signings.

One player that was shown the exit door during Rowett’s reign was striker Isaac Olaofe, who joined League Two side Stockport County in January of this year.

At the time, not many Millwall fans may have disagreed with the decision, but seeing how the player is performing now, it may be one that they live to regret.

Who is Isaac Olaofe?

Olaofe started his football career at Millwall, coming through the club’s youth academy before playing for their under-18s and under-21s.

The 23-year-old spent most of his time at the club playing for Millwall’s academy teams, but he also had loan spells away.

The forward’s first loan spell came in 2020, when he joined non-league side Sutton United.

He stayed with them for two months before returning to Millwall and then, that summer, joining Scottish side St. Johnstone for three months.

He once again returned to Sutton until the end of the 2020/21 campaign and then again for the entire 2021/22 season.

In the summer of 2022, Olaofe was promoted to Millwall’s first team, but before leaving the club in January 2023, he made just three appearances for the Lions. He played 85 minutes in the EFL Cup and made two appearances in the league, which combined to just 10 minutes of action.

So, Millwall decided to let the forward leave at the beginning of January, and the move for Olaofe has turned out to be a success so far.

Millwall could live to regret selling Isaac Olaofe to Stockport County

Stockport agreed to sign Olaofe on a permanent basis, with the striker signing a contract until the summer of 2025.

The 23-year-old played 18 times in the second half of last season, with 10 of those appearances coming as starts for Olaofe.

The young striker was immediately given the trust of Dave Challinor, and he repaid him by scoring twice, with one being the winner over Rochdale at the end of last season.

Olaofe started two of the club’s three play-off games last season but was unable to help the club reach League One. So, with Stockport looking to go one step further this season, Olaofe has made an excellent start to the campaign.

The forward has netted 11 goals in 17 League Two appearances this season, with three coming in the win over Wrexham earlier this season. Olaofe looks to have taken his game to the next level, with him so far this season averaging 1.8 shots per game, 0.9 dribbles, and 0.8 key passes, which helped him collect two assists, as per WhoScored.com.

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It looks to be a transfer that has worked out well for both Olaofe and Stockport, while Millwall will be looking to see if they have made the right decision.

Obviously, there is a big difference between the Championship and League Two, so Olaofe could have stayed at The Den, but he may not have found the form he is producing now. Olaofe didn't feature under former manager Rowett, so the club decided to cut ties.

However, with him scoring goals now and the fact that Joe Edwards is the club’s new manager, someone who has been known to work with younger academy players, Millwall may be looking with regret at selling the forward in January.

This is especially true when you consider that Millwall’s current attacking options are struggling to be consistent goalscorers themselves. So, if Olaofe keeps performing, it is likely going to have Millwall looking on with envy.