Millwall will hope Michael Obafemi is refreshed after Burnley nightmare: View | OneFootball

Highlights

After a disappointing spell with Burnley, Michael Obafemi will be hoping to put that behind him and kickstart his career with his recent move to Millwall.

The Irish striker completed a move to Turf Moor last January, initially on loan, before making it permanent after their promotion to the Premier League in the summer.

However, the former Southampton man endured a torrid time at Burnley and the move hasn't benefited Obafemi's career like he perhaps thought it would.

The 23-year-old needs a fresh start and Millwall supporters will be hoping that he can show some of the form he showed at Swansea during the second-half of the 2021/22 season as the club look to move up the Championship table under Joe Edwards.

Michael Obafemi's time at Burnley

Since joining the Clarets in January 2023, the Irishman has only made 16 appearances, with just two of them coming this season.

He scored just twice during their 2022/23 title-winning campaign and is yet to score this season after playing just 18 minutes of football.

Obafemi missed the first chunk of the season, but even when he's been fit and available, he's yet to make a start and has even been left out of the matchday squad in recent weeks.

The Irishman joined from Swansea City, where he scored 15 times in 52 appearances for the club, which included a good run of form at the end of the 2021/22 season.

His deal at Burnley was initially a loan but had a clause that meant his deal would become permanent if the Clarets were promoted, which they were.

However, it seems as if there's no immediate future for Obafemi at Turf Moor, with manager Vincent Kompany happy to loan the player out despite the club being 19th in the Premier League and embroiled in a relegation battle.

Quite simply, it's a move that has been a massive disappointment.

Michael Obafemi needs to focus to be a success at Millwall

There's no denying that Obafemi is a very talented player, but there have long been questions over his attitude.

Millwall, a typically no-nonsense club, won't put up with any players who have bad attitudes and this could be the chance for Obafemi to turn his career around.

Whilst at Swansea, Obafemi found himself out of the matchday squads for weeks due to off-field issues, while Ralph Hasenhüttl issued warnings to him as a youngster over his attitude.

In November 2021, after the Irishman was omitted from Swansea's matchday squad for the sixth time that season, then Swans boss Russell Martin publicly urged Obafemi to improve his off-field professionalism.

Martin said, "Michael understands why he's not in the squad, he agrees that he shouldn't be in the squad, it's nothing major.

"We're here to try and improve players. It's such a strong group culturally. We spend a lot of time talking, and he understands he needs to be better in a few aspects to become the player he wants to become and to become the person he wants to become.

"He's disappointed. I'm disappointed he's not here, but performance doesn't come before culture, it's the other way around. He'll get there, and I'm sure he'll be back involved soon.

"It's just a few disciplinary things in terms of the way we train, time-keeping, and it does matter, unfortunately."

With Millwall currently 18th in the league, they'll be relying on Obafemi to bag goals and help move them up the table.

The player should see this as a good opportunity to get his career back on track, score some goals and help the club in any way he can.

If Millwall can get a fully-focused, motivated Obafemi, then it's no exaggeration to say they've got one of the best strikers in the league. At 23, he's not a youngster anymore and will realise that time is beginning to run out if he's to become the player he knows he could become.

This loan spell could just be the most important few months in the Irishman's career so far.