Alex Neil reveals why Millwall rejected record-breaking Ipswich Town, Femi Azeez transfer | OneFootball

Alex Neil has revealed why Millwall rejected Ipswich Town's bid for Femi Azeez, which would have broken the Lions' club-record sale.

Millwall boss Alex Neil has opened up on the Lions' decision to reject Ipswich Town's bid for Femi Azeez, which would have amounted to a club-record sale for the London club.

Azeez has been a star performer for Neil's men this season, scoring seven goals and producing two assists in 19 Championship appearances.

The 24-year-old showed his class last month, scoring in a 2-0 win at Watford and notching an assist in a 2-1 defeat to league leaders Coventry City.

Meanwhile, Millwall, who currently sit fifth in the second tier, face a vital clash against sixth-place Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground this Saturday.

Alex Neil reveals why Millwall retained Femi Azeez amid Ipswich Town advances

Azeez has proven himself as a highly capable winger at Championship level since joining the Lions from League One outfit Reading in the summer of 2024.

Meanwhile, speaking to Southwark News, Neil revealed why Millwall rejected Ipswich's record-breaking bid for the former Royals man: "What it shows is we recognise how important Femi’s been to our team. Ipswich are one point ahead of us currently. So it’s not as if we’re sitting in 12th, and we need to cash in.

"We’ve had a great season so far, and we’re continuing to have a great season, and I think keeping Femi certainly strengthens our hand. Jimmy (Berylson) deserves huge amounts of credit for sticking to his guns and allowing Femi to stay with us to the end of the season. We’re hoping that that’s going to pay dividends for him, for us, for everybody between now and the end."

According to Southwark News, the Lions' record sale remains that of Romain Esse, who joined Crystal Palace for £14.5million in January 2025.

Neil outlined that Millwall are now in a different situation to the one they were in last year: "I think the biggest difference now is probably that we’ve got numerous assets right across the team. I’m sure there were other players that would have had the opportunity to go elsewhere. There was certainly interest in other players we’ve got.

"But we spoke about it at length. There are times where it’s right to sell for the club, it’s right to sell for the player, and there are times where we need to focus on what we are trying to do at this moment in time, and whether we feel is better for the next short period of time to the summer.

"We feel we’ve got a great opportunity where we can go and do something quite special, and we want to try and give ourselves the best chance. It doesn’t mean that because we’ve done that, it’s going to happen, but it certainly helps.

"It gives us better options in terms of more depth, more strength, and hopefully keeping our best players for the remainder of this season."

Millwall can reap the rewards of retaining Femi Azeez

Millwall would undoubtedly have completed strong business from a financial point of view if they allowed Azeez to join Ipswich for a fee worth north of £14.5m.

However, as outlined by Neil, selling one of their best players midway through a promising season would have been a poor decision from a footballing point of view.

The Lions sit just one point behind Kieran McKenna's side in the Championship, albeit the Tractor Boys have a game in hand on Neil's men.

Selling a talented asset such as Azeez to a top-six rival could have had negative consequences for Millwall amid their increasingly promising play-off bid.