Cardiff City and Millwall in European transfer race - it could cost £4.2m | OneFootball

Cardiff City and Millwall are both vying to bolster their midfield in the summer transfer window

Cardiff City and Millwall are both battling to strengthen their midfield ahead of the 2026/27 Championship season.

The Bluebirds successfully clinched promotion from League One back to the second tier at the first time of asking and must now build a squad who can stabilise in the Championship.

Meanwhile, the Lions narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League before losing to eventual play-off winners Hull City in the semi-finals.

Millwall will want to launch another promotion bid next term, meaning they must enjoy a successful summer transfer window, while the recently relegated trio of West Ham United, Burnley, and Wolverhampton Wanderers will provide fresh competition.

Cardiff City and Millwall face competition from Schalke for 22-year-old midfielder

Cardiff played stellar football for most of their League One season, but will need to further strengthen their ranks to remain competitive in the Championship.

Meanwhile, if Millwall sufficiently bolster their squad, they could even book their place in the 2027/28 Premier League, having narrowly missed out on a top-flight spot ahead of next term.

The Lions enjoyed the services of midfield talent such as Casper De Norre and Derek Mazou-Sacko during the 2025/26 campaign, but are keen to further add to their options.

Cardiff midfielders such as David Turnbull and Joel Colwill played a key role as Brian Barry-Murphy's men earned automatic promotion from League One, but the Welsh capital outfit need more quality to help them in the Championship and, after controversially releasing long-time stalwart Ryan Wintle, the Bluebirds are on the search for new and improved operators in the middle of the park.

According to German outlet Fussball Transfers, Fredrikstad's Rocco Shein has attracted contract interest from both Millwall and the Bluebirds, while Schalke have also made contact.

His current club want a fee worth between £2.5million and £4.2m for his services.

Schalke successfully won promotion back to the Bundesliga, but Millwall and Cardiff would, of course, hand Shein the opportunity to play in English football for the first time in his career.

The 22-year-old joined Norwegian top-flight side Fredrikstad in January 2025 and has made 11 Eliteserien appearances so far this year, notching two goals and one assist in the process.

He started his career with Estonian club Flora Tallinn before joining Dutch outfit Utrecht in 2022, spending one year there.

The midfielder left Utrecht in favour of fellow Dutch club Dordrecht in the summer of 2023, and remained there until he joined his current side.

Shein has made 24 appearances for Estonia, most recently featuring in their clashes with Norway and Cyprus last November.

Rocco Shein could be an asset in the Championship for either Millwall or Cardiff

Alongside his top-flight exploits in Norway, Shein featured in both the Europa League and the Conference League in 2025, which is valuable experience.

Furthermore, his midfield performances in the Eliteserien this term suggest that he is capable of performing in the Championship if he joins either Millwall or Cardiff.

According to FotMob, the 22-year-old has completed 444 successful passes in his 11 league appearances this term, as well as 11 successful crosses.

Shein is tenacious as well as creative, having made 96 defensive contributions already in 2026, while he has won 65 duels and 22 aerial duels.

The 22-year-old may take time to adapt to the Championship, but his Eliteserien stats suggest that he could be a real asset for either Millwall or Cardiff.