Championship side Millwall will be hoping to push for promotion once again next season following a reasonably promising 2021/22 campaign.

However, they will have to do so without former star man Jed Wallace, who linked up with West Bromwich Albion yesterday after managing to impress on a consistent basis at The Den in recent years.

His six goals and 11 assists played a part in giving the Lions a real chance of reaching the play-offs last term and as Gary Rowett's side's main threat, the second-tier outfit may need to bring in two or three players to replace the firepower Wallace provided.

 

 

However, they still have a strong defence at their disposal despite Daniel Ballard's return to Arsenal, with other loanees also leaving gaps for Rowett's side to fill in the coming months.

The forward area will certainly require more depth with Benik Afobe and Oliver Burke both departing - and their advanced midfield position will need more additions too with Sheyi Ojo and Luke Freeman not certain to return to The Den.

Because of departures, they will need to recruit a few starters between now and the start of September if they are to give themselves the best chance of securing another top-half finish. At this stage though, we have chosen what we believe to be the second-tier side's best starting 11 at this stage.

In goal, Bartosz Bialkowski takes his place again as one of the more competent shot-stoppers in the division and someone who has fully contributed to a solid defence in recent years.

Likely to go with a back three once again next term, Murray Wallace takes his place in central defence despite his ability to play at wing-back as he fills in for former loanee Ballard.

Shaun Hutchinson and Jake Cooper also start, with the latter continuing to be a real asset and proving that former side Reading shouldn't have let him go despite not suiting Jaap Stam's system.

With Wallace moving into central defence, that opens up a spot for Scott Malone to come in - and there are no prizes for guessing who starts on the right with Danny McNamara establishing himself as a key first-teamer during 2021/22.

Although his two goals and two assists may not be the most spectacular, he has proven to be a real threat going forward and will continue to do so next term.

Maikel Kieftenbeld's departure is a blow considering how reliable he was during his time in the English capital - but George Saville and Billy Mitchell are still two decent options to have at this level with Ryan Leonard available as well.

In the front though, they would have ideally wanted West Brom man Wallace to be available as an option for them as well as Afobe - but their absences leave spaces for Tyler Burey and Mason Bennett to come into the first 11. Burey hasn't managed to record a huge number of second-tier appearances but at 21, he looks bright and will only get better in the coming years.

And up front, Tom Bradshaw may need to step up in the absence of Afobe and score the goals needed to give the Lions the best chance of reaching the top six.