Stoke City must be filled with transfer regret - Millwall now have £15m+ asset on their hands | OneFootball

Stoke City had a bid rejected by Reading for Femi Azeez before Millwall swooped in for the winger's signature

Femi Azeez has been electric for Millwall ever since his move from Reading in the summer of 2024, though he could well be playing for a Championship rival right now had Reading not rejected their bid.

Millwall have once again endured a strong campaign with Alex Neil at the helm at The Den, with a place in the top six come the end of the season looking increasingly likely.

Key to those prospects has been winger Femi Azeez, whose seven goals and four assists in 22 league games have been integral to the Lions' efforts this campaign.

In an attack containing the likes of Camiel Neghli, Mihailo Ivanovic, and Thierno Ballo, Azeez has shone brighter than the rest, leading to rumours of an exit as recently as this January.

Ipswich Town tried and failed in their quest to bring Azeez to Portman Road this winter, seeing bids in excess of £15 million rejected for the 24-year-old late on in the window.

However, things could be very different right now had Millwall not acted sooner in signing Azeez from Reading in the summer of 2024, with a notable Championship rival seeing a bid rejected for the winger shortly before signing for the Lions.

Stoke City missed out on the signing of Femi Azeez to Millwall

With Azeez strutting his stuff in the English capital with Millwall right now, things could have been very different for the winger, who was the subject of a bid from Stoke City prior to his move to the Lions.

As per TEAMtalk, Stoke - then under the guidance of current Bolton Wanderers boss Steven Schumacher - submitted a bid to Reading for Azeez, but saw their offer knocked back.

Whilst it's unclear how much their offer was worth, it almost certainly fell short of the £1 million mark, which is the amount that the Lions paid for his services shortly after.

Azeez had just scored eight and assisted nine in League One with the Royals, playing all 46 league games for the club that season, just before confirming his move to The Den.

The winger has continued his fine form into the tier above, scoring two and assisting five in his first season with Millwall before taking his game to the next level this campaign, having already surpassed his goal tally by five, with the season still far from over.

With Stoke having plummeted down the table after a promising start to the year, they must be full of regret that they don't have Azeez in their ranks right now to help them with their struggles.

Mark Robins must be pulling his hair out at Stoke City's transfer mishap involving Femi Azeez

Indeed, with Stoke having suffered a severe drop-off in form in recent months, with finding the back of the net emerging as a particular issue, having someone like Azeez in their squad would be a real game-changer.

Manager Mark Robins is coming under increased scrutiny by Potters supporters following their drastic downturn in results, and could use someone like Azeez right now.

With Million Manhoef and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi as options off the right, with Lamine Cisse also able to play off the same flank, it's not like Stoke are exactly lacking in options in that area.

Though for one reason or another, Robins has been unable to get the best out of any of them, with much of the burden of scoring and creating falling on Welsh winger Sorba Thomas, who has been directly involved in nearly half of the Potters' goals in the Championship this season.

With Thomas thriving off the left, they could do with someone performing at a similar level off the right, and Azeez would have fit the bill perfectly.

Stoke