Millwall signed Macaulay Langstaff from League Two side Notts County on a long-term deal in the summer transfer window.
After Neil Harris guided the Millwall safely to a mid-table position at the end of the 2024 Championship season, it was his job to strengthen the team in the summer and get them back the confidence they once had before narrowly missing out on the play-offs in 2023.
However, it could be argued that not enough signings were brought in at the start of the season, and the squad lacked depth ahead of the 24/25 campaign.
Harris left his position as head coach in December after a difficult first half of the season. He was replaced later in the month by experienced Championship boss Alex Neil.
One man who has struggled for regular minutes at Millwall under Neil is summer signing Macaulay Langstaff, and speculation continues over whether his future lies away from The Den after his debut season in the second tier of football.
How has Langstaff performed in the Championship?
The 28-year-old has appeared 28 times in the Championship for Millwall this season with only a goal and two assists to his name.
Langstaff’s last feature for the Lions was as an 89th-minute substitute against local rivals QPR at the beginning of February. He has missed the last 10 matches for the South London outfit due to injury.
It is safe to say that it hasn’t been a successful first season in the Championship for the forward, and he hasn’t been able to reach the heights he reached in his debut season in the Football League with Notts County.
It could be a case of too much too soon for Langstaff, and the jump to the Championship was too much of a step to make. However, there’s no denying his goalscoring ability, and he definitely possesses the quality even if he is only capable of showing it in a division or two lower.
A move away from The Den is likely
Millwall signed Mihailo Ivanovic for a club record fee in the same window as Langstaff, and it is the Serbian who has fared much better in their debut season in the Championship.
After scoring 70 goals in 96 games for Notts County across the National League and League Two, a team from a higher division was always going to gamble at the prospect of a repeat of those goalscoring numbers.
Unfortunately for the Lions and for Langstaff, that has not been the case.
Josh Coburn seems to be another option Neil prefers to Langstaff, and with the club credited with permanent interest in the Middlesbrough loanee, the amount of playing time available to the 28-year-old next season doesn’t look promising.
Whether it is a loan move away from The Den next campaign or permanent, it is in his best interests to find a club where he can get regular playing time and achieve the goalscoring numbers he achieved before.
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