Millwall are set to lose out on signing Tottenham Hotspur youth captain Matthew Craig after a League One side have agreed a deal with the Premier League side.
He was part of Doncaster Rovers‘ strong finish to last season which saw them dispel any relegation fears to finish in fifth place before losing out to Crewe Alexandra in the play-off semi-finals. He made 20 appearances for Grant McCann’s side after joining from Spurs’ Under-21 side in January.
The midfielder made his debut for the North London club on the final day of the 2022/23 season as a substitute against Leeds United and would later go on to be named a captain for the academy side until his move to South Yorkshire.
Craig is set to return to the county this summer with Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke revealing that Barnsley have secured a deal for the Scottish player and has already completed his medical. Darrell Clarke’s side were condemned to a third straight season in League One after being beaten on penalties by Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs.
Previous reports from Football Insider indicated that Championship clubs, including Millwall, were interested in signing the 21-year-old in April. Both The Lions and Sheffield Wednesday were monitoring the player’s progress in Doncaster but have ultimately been beaten by the Oakwell side.
Neil Harris’ side have been calm but measured in this window so far, securing Japhet Tanganga from Spurs following his loan last season, Notts County‘s Macaulay Langstaff and Lincoln City goalkeeper Lukas Jensen. The London club have an older midfield with George Honeyman, Casper de Norre and George Saville all over the age of 27, complemented with the 23-year-old Billy Mitchell.
Wednesday meanwhile have found alternatives from Craig to fill out the middle of the park, with Nathaniel Chalobah moving on a free transfer from West Bromwich Albion. The former Watford player struggled for game time towards the end of last season and only played 122 minutes after March.
Writer’s View
Millwall’s quest to bolster their options ahead of next season seems to be continuing on further. Whilst their business so far has been quality, the lack of choices they have in the middle of the park could cause alarm should one or two injuries hit them. With players like Zian Flemming able to drop further back into a midfield role, bringing an additional face into the team isn’t an immediate problem but would probably benefit them next season.
Barnsley have completed the deal but with a lack of talk over whether Neil Harris’ side were continuing their monitoring of Matthew Craig this summer, it would seem that they moved on from the player. Nevertheless, it is a good move and gets the chance to play a full campaign in League One following his promising spell at Doncaster. The Tykes will still be competing at the top end of the league but will face an uphill battle with the new teams dropping down from the Championship.
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