Millwall set to have defender deal done this week – as Lions boss spells out again that none of squad are for sale
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Byron Webster is expected to sign a new Millwall contract this week – and was part of the Lions playing squad when they resumed pre-season training yesterday.
The 31-year-old started 10 of the club’s first 11 Championship fixtures but was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage at the end of September.
Millwall manager Neil Harris has always stated he wanted to keep Webster, who has made 131 appearances since signing from Yeovil in June 2014.
“Byron is training with the group and I really look forward to seeing him,” said Harris. “He looked in great shape when I saw him last week.
“With his contract there is just a very minor detail at the moment to just get over that. Hopefully there might be some news on that.”
Webster will face a fierce battle for a first-team slot – not only battling to break up the Shaun Hutchinson-Jake Cooper partnership but also moving ahead of Murray Wallace, signed from Scunthorpe last week, in the Den pecking order.
Millwall’s offer for Wolves winger Ben Marshall is higher than the £1.2million reported in the national press over the weekend.
The former Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers man, 27, has two years to run on his current terms but was already out of the picture at Molineux even before big-spending Wanderers won promotion to the Premier League last season.
Harris has spoken about retaining star men in his squad as being the number one priority – with the likes of Hutchinson, Cooper, George Saville and Jed Wallace all catching the eye as the Lions finished eighth in their first season back at Championship level.
Right-back Mahlon Romeo penned a long-term contract last week.
“We’ve been very clear that no-one is for sale,” said Harris. “That is obviously tongue-in-cheek to a certain extent because Neymar is for sale, Ronaldo is for sale – there is a price that no-one can turn down.
“But we are not actively looking to lose any of our players. It’s quite easy for me – I don’t expect to lose anybody.”
