Millwall have pulled a blinder with £0 deal - Ipswich Town will know all about it | OneFootball

Massimo Luongo hasn't taken long to settle in at Millwall

Ipswich Town's volcanic rise to the Premier League in back-to-back seasons meant that the Tractor Boys had to improve their squad rapidly from their time in League One to compete in the top flight.

Unfortunately, that meant that a lot of players who contributed massively to their consecutive promotions fell towards the back of the pecking order last season, and subsequently were allowed to leave Portman Road throughout the summer.

Several Championship sides have benefited from this, from Coventry City and Swansea City being able to sign defensive duo Cameron Burgess and Luke Woolfenden, respectively, to Portsmouth bringing Conor Chaplin back to where he started his career at Fratton Park on loan.

But arguably, one of the biggest winners of this reshuffle at Ipswich has been Millwall, who were the side to secure the services of Australian international Massimo Luongo, after he was released at the end of his contract following the culmination of the 2024/25 campaign.

Luongo, who turns 33 on September 25, played a massive role in Ipswich's progression up the leagues since his arrival from Middlesbrough in the January of their League One promotion campaign. The Tractor Boys won 13 and drew two of their 15 third-tier outings with him in the side, and then he started 37 times in the Championship en route to Premier League promotion.

Now, he's showing that class at the Den.

Massimo Luongo has been immense so far for Millwall

With both George Saville and George Honeyman being allowed to depart the Lions this summer, Millwall were in need of midfield reinforcements, and Luongo was all but confirmed immediately, having trained with the club throughout pre-season ahead of signing his contract in late July.

The former Ipswich man had to bide his time from the bench for the opening couple of league games, but since his first league start for the club in their 1-0 away win at Sheffield United, the Australian hasn't missed a minute of league action.

The number of interceptions, recoveries and duels won both on the ground and in the air put him in the top 10% of Championship central midfielders through the opening six games of the season, according to Fotmob, and whether it's been Luke Cundle, Casper De Norre or Derek Mazou-Sacko next to him in the middle of the park, Luongo has been dominant.

Against Watford, Luongo put in four tackles and eight recoveries as the Lions picked up their first home points of the league season. The Australian has that feel of what it's like to gain promotion from this division, and he's looking to use that to his advantage at his new club.

Ipswich Town fans won't be surprised to see Massimo Luongo excel at Millwall

Plenty of Ipswich fans will look back at the various players who helped them achieve back-to-back promotions into the Premier League as heroes, and whilst they can understand that these players needed to depart for the club to progress, they will still be watching on and be happy as they perform well for their new clubs.

Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for Luongo regarding a new Ipswich deal this past summer, just a few games into last season. The Australian's two Premier League starts came in the opening two games of the campaign. From that point, there were more instances where he was left on the bench (11) than appearances made as a substitute (9).

But ultimately, that hasn't put a downer on his time at the club at all. Ipswich lost just six league games out of the 58 they played in League One and the Championship with Luongo in the team, which is an insane return, and their fans won't be surprised at all to see their former midfielder boss the park once more at a new club.

As for Millwall, they'll be thinking that they've hit the jackpot by being able to bring in such a quality operator for the level on a free transfer.