Millwall will be praying £2m player investment works: View | OneFootball

Millwall have been beginning to splash the cash in recent seasons, with their five most expensive transfers of all time all coming within this current decade.

Casper De Norre’s arrival from OH Leuven last summer is said to be the club-record at €2.5M, while regular goal-getter Zian Flemming also features highly after his move from Fortuna Sittard the season before.

Another player in the top five is Kevin Nisbet, with the forward joining from Hibernian last summer after plenty of speculation about the deal, with a mooted deal in the preceding January put on the backburner until the summer.

But as his first season in English football comes to a close, the Lions will be hoping for a better return from their marksman in the following campaign, with not much to shout about during his time in East London so far.

Kevin Nisbet struggles to recreate Hibernian form after Millwall switch

Interest had started to grow around Nisbet last season after returning from a leg injury in red-hot form, with eight goals in as many games once he made his first appearances of the campaign in December.

Millwall had already made their interest in the striker well-known at that point, and it looked like a club-record deal was on the cards to bring the frontman down to The Den on a permanent deal.

But with only a handful of games under his belt when the deal was proposed, Nisbet preferred to stay in Scotland to fully complete his rehabilitation, and scored 12 goals in 20 games in the process.

He said last summer: “Football’s a short career and you have to make important decisions. It’s life-changing money but for me just to come back from a major injury it was just about a feeling that I wanted to stay here til the end of the season or further.

“Sometimes you just get a feeling it’s not the right time to go. Maybe it was too soon after the ACL and I just wanted to get settled a bit more before I go.

“It was about me getting that feeling that I want to come back here, keep playing and get my match sharpness and fitness again. I’ve got that now and delighted.”

It looked like the Lions had done the right thing in delaying the move for the Scottish international, and finally made him their man last summer, as he signed a three-year deal with the Bermondsey side.

But that form is yet to rub off on the south side of the border, with just five goals for his efforts in a blue shirt this campaign, with the uncertainty at the Den hardly helping in making him feel at home since his move.

After starting the season with Gary Rowett, Millwall have had Joe Edwards in charge for a brief ill-fated spell, before turning back to club-record goalscorer Neil Harris to take the reins back in February.

Injury layoff leaves Nisbet on the sidelines for remainder of Championship campaign

The striker hasn’t had the chance to impress his new boss as of yet, with a hamstring injury sustained two months ago ruling him out for the rest of the season, leaving question marks over his place in Harris’ plans.

The Scot has shown glimpses of what he can do in the opposition penalty area this season, with a well-taken goal against Stoke City getting him off the mark for his new employers, as well as another volleyed finish to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

In his new manager, he has a man who certainly knows how to find the back of the net for the Lions, with Harris [pictured] having done so 135 times over the course of an outstanding career at The Den, and will no doubt be able to give his goal-getter a tip or two once he regains full fitness.

With funds not always readily available for the Bermondsey club any player that comes in for a vast amount of money is always going to be scrutinised more than most, and Nisbet still needs to prove himself to those in Cold Blow Lane that he has what it takes to perform at Championship level.

The shoots of a top EFL performer are definitely there, and once he returns from injury and is playing in a stable club - on and off the pitch - the Scot might finally get to show everybody what he is really about.