Alex Neil must resist Macaulay Langstaff transfer action - Fresh Millwall evidence is promising | OneFootball

Macaulay Langstaff came off the bench to net the winner against Norwich City.

After just 10 minutes of 2025/26 Championship action, Macaulay Langstaff has already equalled his goal tally from the 34 second-tier matches he played in last term.

An outstanding goal record in the National League North, National League and League Two with Gateshead and then Notts County respectively prompted a jump up two divisions last season for Langstaff, as Millwall parted ways with a reported £700,000 to bring him to the Den.

However, he endured a tough first term in the Championship. Despite scoring and assisting twice in his first two starts, the 28-year-old wouldn't get on the scoresheet again and started just twice more in the league in 2025 under Alex Neil.

It was an ambitious move to make the jump to the second tier, and many were wondering if Langstaff would find himself at a League One side this summer.

However, after a solid pre-season and a goal-scoring start to the league campaign, perhaps he still has a role to play at the Den as Millwall strive to finally break into the top six.

Macaulay Langstaff has shown promise so far in 2025/26

With Millwall bringing in Josh Coburn on a permanent deal from Middlesbrough this summer, many assumed that Langstaff would be allowed to seek a move elsewhere, as the 28-year-old is arguably the third-choice frontman within the side behind Coburn and Mihailo Ivanovic.

However, Neil played both Ivanovic and Coburn from the off away at Norwich City, leaving Langstaff as the man he turned to when a goal was needed, with the game at a stalemate heading into the final ten minutes.

The former Notts County man wasn't lacking in match sharpness, playing an important role in the Lions' pre-season preparations - the highlight of which saw him net a hat-trick in their 6-2 win against National League side Sutton United.

So, Langstaff was ready to make an impact, and three minutes after coming on, he netted what would go on to be the winner against fellow play-off hopefuls, Norwich.

The goal equalled his 2024/25 tally, and might just make those at the Den rethink cutting their losses on the 2023/24 League Two top scorer.

If the former Notts County man can continue to work hard and make an impact in the short time he's given, he could be a useful asset in the Millwall squad throughout the campaign.

Macaulay Langstaff has a lot still to prove in the Championship at Millwall

After a difficult opening 12 months at Millwall, you wouldn't hold it against Langstaff to want to drop down a league or two once more to regain his scoring prowess, but the centre-forward seems determined not to.

That was his thought process back in June, and it's translated into the opening game of the 2025/26 campaign.

Langstaff wanted to show that he is a Championship-quality striker, and remaining in the fold at Millwall going into this new season is an indication that he is on his way to at least proving that.

But the former non-league goalscoring phenom, like many of his fellow competitors, won't be content with sitting on the bench each week, and will be wanting to prove to Neil that he is good enough to start ahead of the likes of Coburn and Ivanovic.

The aforementioned two hold massive potential, with Ivanovic being 20 and Coburn being 22, but nothing is stopping Langstaff, as he enters what many call the 'prime age' for outfielders, from almost disrupting that and making the starting striker spot his own.

If he can even slightly replicate his incredible form in front of goal, which he displayed at Notts County, then a Millwall side which only just averaged over a goal a game last season would be an incredibly dangerous prospect in 2025/26.