Millwall will always regret costly Russian agreement - It was a total disaster for the Lions | OneFootball

Millwall's decision to sign Russian striker Sergei Yuran remains one of the most catastrophic transfer deals in the club's history

Millwall's decision to sign Russian striker Sergei Yuran from Spartak Moscow remains one of the most catastrophic transfer deals in the club's history.

Signed in January 1996, the Lions handed Yuran a lucrative contract that quadrupled his wages to £5k a week - along with a signing-on-fee of £150k, with the expectation of him taking them to the Premier League.

Instead, Yuran made just 13 appearances, scoring only once - as his self-confessed unprofessional behaviour contributed to their relegation to the third-tier.

Manager Jimmy Nicholl's damning assessment that "the only thing the other players could have possibly learned from him was how to steal a living", sums up perfectly what became a transfer disaster that helped push the club into administration.

Sergei Yuran's Millwall nightmare

When Sergei Yuran arrived in SE16, Lions' fans had every reason to be excited about their new russian recruit.

The striker was one of the star performers in Spartak Moscow's Champions League campaign that season, where they won all six group stage matches - beating Alan Shearer and Blackburn Rovers.

There is no understating the enormous financial commitment Millwall made to secure his services - especially for a First Division club. His £150k signing-on fee, along with wages of £5k a week, quadrupled his previous salary.

Chairman Peter Mead and the rest of the club were so confident in their new man that kick-off against Port Vale had to be delayed as huge crowds of people turned up to see Yuran in action.

However, the reality of Yuran's performances quickly became apparent. Despite initially showing some glimpses of his quality with good link-up play and runs that seemed to justify a striker of his reputation - his commitment levels plummeted.

If there was any need for further justification, his most memorable moment came against Wolves, where, after running them ragged, he flew into a two-footed challenge and missed, pushed Eric Young, getting sent off. After that, he just preferred to go out drinking rather than play football.

The impact Sergei Yuran had on Millwall's season

Yuran was supposed to be helping Millwall get promoted - instead it coincided with one of the most spectacular collapses in English football history.

The Lions had started the 1995/1996 season in good form - losing twice from their first 18 games, and were top of the second-tier for six whole weeks.

They even knocked FA Cup holders Everton out of the League Cup in a 4-2 win at Goodison Park.

After that, Millwall's season derailed at Christmas, and a run of five straight defeats saw them go from first - to seventh - to out of the picture entirely. The signings of both Yuran and fellow Russian Vasili Kulkov in January was meant to better things - but it didn't.

Having never been in the bottom three at any prior stage of the season and seemingly destined for Premier League football before Yuran's signature, Millwall were relegated to the third tier.

Sergei Yuran transfer nearly killed Millwall

The club had committed to long contracts with very nice wages - whilst also spending big in regard to infrastructure - so they essentially needed promotion that season.

As they were already living beyond their means, relegation to League One pushed Millwall to the very edge, and they found themselves in administration within a year.

For a club that prides itself on its working-class values, the sight of an expensive overseas signing treating his contract as a paid holiday is definitely one that would still anger those who remember.