Charlie Cresswell seals Millwall move with Leeds United statement hinting at future plans

Millwall have completed a loan deal to sign Leeds United centre-back, Charlie Cresswell, and the Whites’ statement has hinted at what the future holds.

Cresswell, 19, made his senior Leeds debut in the Carabao Cup back in 2020. He followed that lone appearance up with eight more last season including five outings in the Premier League.

The academy graduate is highly regarded at Elland Road, though manager Jesse Marsch has an abudnance of established options to choose from already.

Indeed, Leeds can count Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk among their centre-back corps.

Each of that quartet have struggled with injury at times, though Cresswell’s chances of attaining regular game-time next season looked slim nonetheless.

A loan move to the Championship with either Millwall or Sunderland had been mooted. The former of that pair have now won the race, agreeing a one-year deal.

The news was confirmed via both Leeds and Millwall’s official websites. Cresswell stressed he’ll be giving maximum effort every match when breaking his silence on the move.

Charlie Cresswell brings Millwall tally to four

“I’m delighted to be here and I’ll be giving my all for this club,” Cresswell told millwallfc.co.uk.

“From this moment in time I’m a Millwall player and I’ll be doing everything I can to help this club.”

Cresswell becomes Millwall’s fourth arrival of the summer, following in the footsteps of Zian Flemming, George Honeyman and Benik Afobe.

However, the wording in Leeds’ statement suggests Cresswell’s future remains firmly back at Elland Road once the loan concludes.

Their statement read Cresswell – who has regularly captained the club’s Under-23 side – will ‘look to gain further first-team experience’ away from Elland Road.

Clearly, the move is designed for Cresswell to continue his development in senior, competitive football before returning to fight for his place when a more rounded player next summer.

That is also the view held by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth.

Charlie Cresswell leaves Leeds United for a season on loan with Millwall in the Championship.

Great experience. Needs to play and will come back all the better for it.#lufc

— Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth) July 4, 2022