Millwall should keep an eye on Leeds United's £40m transfer stance: View | OneFootball

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Millwall are back in Championship action this weekend as they welcome Coventry City to The Den.

This will be Joe Edwards second game in charge of the Lions and his first at home after taking charge of his first game away at Sheffield Wednesday, which ended in a 4-0 win.

Edwards has been brought in by the club as Millwall look to go down a different route than previous boss Gary Rowett.

The Millwall manager will have an eye on getting the club further up the Championship table, as they only sit a handful of points away from the play-off places.

To get his side challenging, Edwards may be looking at the January transfer window as an opportunity to improve his side, even after Millwall brought in several new players during the summer.

The Millwall boss will have certain areas he wants to improve in, and therefore, he will know players who can do that job. But there will be players already at the club who will be looking to impress, with one of those being wonderkid Romain Esse.

The midfielder is someone who has a very high ceiling at the football club and is deemed to be a player who could go very in the game, so there could be a time where speculation arrives over his future.

But the Lions shouldn’t panic, as they should use Leeds United’s current approach as a benchmark when it comes to Esse.

Gray has emerged as an important player for Leeds this season, as the 17-year-old has graduated from the club’s academy and gone straight into Daniel Farke’s first team plans.

The teenager has impressed on numerous occasions this season, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed, as teams from the Premier League are taking notice.

It was first claimed that Liverpool had an interest in the player, with Leeds anticipating an offer in the region of £40 million for the 17-year-old.

It was also mentioned that Crystal Palace and Everton had an interest in Gray as well. While Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have also been reported to be interested.

However, Leeds are standing firm in their transfer valuation, and this is something that Millwall could look to and learn from, as they could have a similar issue down the line with Esse.

Why should Millwall keep an eye on Leeds United’s transfer stance on Archie Gray?

Esse is a graduate of Millwall’s academy, coming from their under-18s straight into the first team during last season.

The 18-year-old made 13 appearances in all competitions last season, with 12 of them coming in the Championship.

This season, Esse has continued to be around the first team, as he’s been part of all of Millwall’s 16 league games. The midfielder hasn’t featured in them all, but he has played in 11 games, starting one in the defeat to Norwich City at the beginning of the campaign.

So far in his combined appearances, Esse has grabbed just one goal, and that was in the win over Middlesbrough at the start of the season. But he is a player who is impressing as he gets more minutes. So far, he has an expected goal ratio of 0.9 and an expected assist ratio of 0.5, as per Fbref.com.

Furthermore, the 18-year-old has a goal contribution of 0.20 per 90 minutes he plays, which will no doubt improve the better he gets and the more minutes he plays. But other aspects of his play are impressing, with him having seven progressive carries so far and having made 30 progressive passes in all of his appearances combined, as per Fbref.com.

This season, Esse has made 18 progressive passes, with 137 passes attempted and 101 completed, meaning he has a completion rate of 73.7%, as per Fbref.com.

Esse is still very raw and learning about first-team football, but he is a player that is highly rated at the football club and someone they expect to be a mainstay in the first team for years to come. Esse will be hoping Edwards’ will be the boost he needs.

But Millwall will have in the back of their heads that if Esse continues to impress, it may not be too long before teams from higher up the football pyramid come knocking.