"It's inevitable" - Millwall FC: Romain Esse & Japhet Tanganga fears raised ahead of January 2025 | OneFootball

FLW's Millwall fan pundit has highlighted his primary concerns ahead of the January transfer window.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Millwall will have hopes that they can close the gap to the play-offs during the remainder of the season, but the January transfer window could be pivotal if they are going to be able to do so.

The Lions currently find themselves inside the top 10 in the Championship table, just five points adrift of the play-off places and with a game in hand over the majority of the teams above them.

Neil Harris was frustrated that his side failed to see out a victory away at Oxford United on Saturday, and with a potentially difficult run of fixtures ahead of them in the lead-up to January, it is going to be an important few weeks for the Londoners if they are going to keep up with the promotion contenders.

If Millwall can remain within touching distance of the top six ahead of the January transfer window, then it could prove to be a hugely important month for the club, and supporters may have some concern over the futures of a few of their key players.

Millwall FC must keep hold of their key players in January

We asked our Millwall fan pundit, Chris Chapman, who covers the club in further detail on his YouTube channel, what his biggest fear is going into the upcoming transfer window.

"Injuries and suspensions are starting to pile up, which means what looked like a bit of a healthy squad a couple of weeks back now doesn't," Chris told FLW.

"The fear is the likes of either of our star players in Japhet Tanganga or Romain Esse are taken from us.

"I think Japhet is probably a bigger fear considering the injuries that we have, whereas Romain, it's inevitable he will go at some stage.

"I would love him to see out the remainder of the Championship season with us and get his big move in the summer. It is probably a little bit of a blessing in disguise that, in the last few weeks, he has been a little bit quiet.

"Given our lack of bodies with those injuries and suspensions, I think it is really important that we keep hold of our best players at the moment."

Esse and Tanganga have starred for Millwall this season

Tanganga and Esse have both been an important part of what Millwall have done so far this season.

The defender has helped his side concede the sixth-fewest goals per match in the Championship so far this term, while only Burnley and Leeds United have restricted their opponents enough to have a lower conceded xG than the Lions in the second tier during the 2024/25 campaign.

At the other end of the pitch, Esse has notched four goal contributions for Millwall, as well as having created four big chances for his teammates - Crystal Palace have been looking at the winger since the transfer window closed in the summer, as per Alan Nixon, and you'd expect a bid to come in when 2025 begins.

It is clear though that the Lions must keep hold of Esse and Tanganga in January if they are going to maintain their push for the play-offs during the remainder of the season, so it is no surprise that losing either of them is Chris' biggest fear ahead of the transfer window.