Millwall supporters may well look at West Brom and wonder what if: View | OneFootball

Throughout the last 20 years, Millwall have spent the majority of their time in the Championship, with a brief spell in League One too.

The Lions have entered their seventh straight season in the second tier, aspiring to reach the top flight to compete against bitter rivals West Ham United at some point in the near future.

Millwall have also had success on the domestic stage in the 2000s, reaching the FA Cup final in 2004 despite remaining in the Championship.

One player who contributed to Millwall maintaining their second tier status in the 2019/20 season was midfielder Jayson Molumby, who linked up in south-east London on loan from Brighton.

In his first loan spell in the EFL, the Republic of Ireland international would impress at the Den and strike a rapport with the fanbase, but a permanent deal could never be agreed after his exit, which is something Millwall are sure to regret not pursuing.

Jayson Molumby’s spell at Millwall

The 24-year-old made the move to Millwall under the stewardship of Lions boss Neil Harris, making his debut for the club in a 2-1 victory in the EFL Cup away to West Bromwich Albion.

Molumby would make his first Championship outing off the substitutes bench away at Fulham just eight days later, but that would be a contest to forget as Millwall were defeated 4-0 by the Cottagers.

With his energetic presence and tireless work rate impressing the Millwall faithful, loanee Molumby became a first team regular in the heart of the midfield, starting 20 consecutive matches for the side between November 2019 and late January 2020.

Ultimately, at the end of the season, Millwall would narrowly miss out on a place in the play-offs, securing an eighth placed finish, just two points off sixth placed Swansea City.

The midfielder would go on to feature 36 times at the Den during the Championship campaign, registering one goal against QPR and racking up 2,788 minutes of action.

Jayson Molumby’s moves after Millwall exit

After rounding off his short stint with Millwall, Molumby would return to the Seagulls in the 2020/21 term hoping to make his mark in the Premier League, but had little success in achieving that feat.

With just a minute of playing time off the bench at Aston Villa, Brighton loaned out Molumby to the second tier once again during the January transfer window, with Preston North End sealing his signature for the remainder of that campaign.

Despite making just 15 appearances at Deepdale, Molumby would gain more valuable experience in the EFL, which attracted West Brom to be his next destination.

The Irishman was originally recruited on loan by the Baggies, featuring under Valerien Ismael and then Steve Bruce towards the end of the season in a turbulent campaign as Albion finished in an underwhelming 10th place.

After working his way into the starting setup in B71, Molumby signed for West Brom on a permanent basis, and a surge in form occurred in a blue and white shirt upon the arrival of Carlos Corberan.

As the Baggies rallied from the bottom of the second tier to on the verge of a place inside the top six, Molumby recorded his best-ever season for attacking contributions, netting four times, and providing four assists from 43 Championship affairs.

With the former Huddersfield Town coach transforming Molumby in his ability going forward, it could be argued remaining in the same environment at Millwall may have brought about this change much sooner in the midfielder’s career.

Millwall certainly had the money to bring Molumby to the club permanently if given the opportunity, with the likes of George Saville and Casper De Norre arriving for decent fees after Molumby’s exit to cover the hole left by his absence.

With Molumby still viewed as a key figure at the time by Brighton, Millwall weren’t able to tempt the Seagulls with a permanent offer, which would have been disappointing, as Molumby embodied all the attributes needed to be a combative midfielder at the second tier level.

Lions supporters will always think of what if the time was right, as Molumby could have improved at a much faster rate at a settled environment, instead of having multiple loan spells before finding his home much later at the Hawthorns.