"He is a Rolls-Royce" - Claim made as Wolves plot Millwall FC transfer raid | OneFootball

FLW's Millwall fan pundit has been speaking on the possibility of Japhet Tanganga departing for the Premier League this month...

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Japhet Tanganga has been one of Millwall's star performers so far this season.

The 25-year-old centre-back put pen to paper on a permanent move to The Den in the summer following the expiration of his Tottenham contract, having spent the second half of last season on loan from Spurs.

"He was the number one target over the summer," said Millwall boss at the time, Neil Harris. "He's just a very, very good player." The former England youth international has certainly been living up to that high praise during the first half of the campaign.

However, his top performances haven't gone unnoticed, and now it's understood that Wolves are weighing up a January move for the defender.

The Express have reported that whilst Millwall don't wish to sell this month, there is a mutual agreement in place to at least consider interest from the Premier League.

Therefore, we asked our Millwall fan pundit, Chris Chapman (Chat With Chaps - YouTube), whether he believes the club will cash in on Tanganga this month, and if so, what price-tag the Lions should place on their star defender.

"Rolls-Royce of a player" - Millwall told to star Japhet Tanganga

Speaking in response to our questions, Chapman said: "Do I want to sell him (Tanganga)? No. Absolutely not. We quite like the fact that the stats and a lot of EFL pundits and journalists haven't necessarily picked this up, but I genuinely, hand on heart, think he's the best central defender in the league.

"He is a Rolls-Royce of a player. He can do everything, he's pocketed so many top Championship players this season, and if you just look at the difference in goals conceded when he plays vs when he doesn't, it's clear for all to see.

"Can I see Millwall cashing in this month? Ultimately, I think it depends on what we're offered, and what agreement was done with Japhet when he signed for us.

"We managed to pull off a real coup by signing Tanganga on a free transfer, but I would imagine that didn't come without some guarantees that if a Premier League club came in for him, that there would be some kind of agreement that would allow him to talk to them.

"So, I don't know what that is, I'm not privy to that information, but I think if a Premier League club does come calling, then it's going to be hard to resist that depending on the fee."

Speaking on the kind of price-tag Millwall should place on Tanganga, Chapman said: "I wouldn't like to see him leave for anything less than £10m, but I think that is quite unrealistic for a player we signed on a free not so long ago.

"We'll have to see and wait it out. The fee I would like to see, I just can't realistically see it happening. But, I want him to remain with us until the end of the season because I think quite frankly, we would be a much, much worse side without him."

Losing Tanganga would be a devastating blow to Millwall and Alex Neil at this stage of the season

Having seen his career beginning to stagnate somewhat at Tottenham, Tanganga has well and truly kickstarted it once more during his time with Millwall.

The central defender has been a rock in the heart of the Lions' defense so far this term, seldom seen coming out on the losing side of his individual tussles with opposition forwards.

Losing him at this stage of the season would leave a massive hole in Millwall's defense, and would surely force the Lions into the market to source his replacement.

With Millwall now closer to the relegation zone than they are the play-off places, losing such an instrumental figure such as Tanganga could shift the Lions' priority away from achieving a top-six finish, to cementing their mid-table place in the second half of the season.