Millwall director of football Steve Gallen has revealed how Super Eagles forward Femi Azeez came to staying at the Championship club before completing his move to Brighton & Hove Albion in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
Azeez joined the Seagulls in a deal worth more than £15 million after Brighton eventually agreed to meet Millwall’s demands for the Nigerian forward.
However, the transfer was far from straightforward, with Millwall initially rejecting Brighton’s offer and were prepared to keep the 25-year-old for another season.
The Super Eagles winger scored 11 goals and provided seven assists as Millwall reached the Championship play-off semi-finals, where they eventually lost to Hull City.
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His performances earned him a place in the PFA Championship Team of the Season eventually earned him a move to the Premier League.
Femi Azeez: Gallen reveals how what how Super Eagles star’s transfer happened
Brighton’s initial offer did not meet Millwall’s valuation of the forward, leaving the Championship club ready to keep him for at least a few months.
Speaking to Millwall TV, Gallen explained that the club had to work closely behind the scenes to handle the negotiations which eventually became complicated.
“It was a busy few days at the end. Pretty much all day, every day, it was myself and the recruitment team. We had great help and great support from Mark Fairbrother, who helped all the way through the summer transfer window, not just on the last few days”, the Millwall chief said, via Southwark News.
“We had Jess, our club secretary, who’s brilliant as always. Ollie Warren, the club lawyer, is a great help. But we needed everybody on point, especially in those last few days, because there’s a lot of moving parts.”
Gallen also revealed that a deal sheet was sent ahead of the 11pm deadline and the deal was completed just in time which prevented a collapse.
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“On the last day, it was a Tuesday night, and so the transfer window closed at 11 pm. Femi did not sign for Brighton until 12:40 am, an hour and 40 minutes after the deadline. How did that happen? Because as long as you get the deal sheet in before 11 pm, the deal sheet went in at 10:30 pm, then you have two more hours. You’ve got until 1 am”, Gallen added.
“So I was sat at the training ground, and I got a phone call at 12:40 am to say Femi had signed for Brighton. So we did not know until 20 minutes before the end of the transfer window if he was actually going to go.”
Deal almost fell through with Millwall prepared to keep Azeez
Gallen also revealed that Millwall were initially unwilling to accept Brighton’s offer, particularly after the club had already turned down an offer in the same region earlier in the year.
The Super Eagles star had previously expressed desire to move to the Premier League, but the Lions were not willing to change their firm stance if their valuation was not met.
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“I’ve got to say, the chairman has been unbelievably supportive and helpful, turning down the money in January to give us the chance to maybe get promotion by keeping Femi. But just a few days before, we had offers from Brighton, and they said they weren’t budging on what they were going to offer.
“There were a couple of other clubs who had made offers as well at the same amount. Femi and his representative said they’re not going to go there. They’re only going to this club. We were kind of in a bit of a corner. We can only sell to Brighton.
“We decided that unless they upped their offer considerably, he was going to stay. So on the Saturday morning, after discussing with Jimmy, I then rang Alex and said, ‘Look, Alex, be prepared that we’re not going to be selling Femi because of the offer we’ve got.’
“I then went to his agent and told him that. Then I went back to Brighton and told them, ‘We’re not going to sell him for the amount that you’re offering.’ We were all prepared that he was going to stay.”
The negotiations eventually went in Brighton’s favour, with the Premier League club agreeing to the terms Millwall wanted. Gallen admitted that the deal took much longer than expected but was pleased that the two clubs managed to reach an agreement before the extended deadline expired.
“So I felt it was the right time to sell Femi, and Femi was very, very keen to go, as you can imagine as well, to the Premier League, completely understandable, to Brighton, a great club. In the end, we got the deal we wanted, and he moved on, and I was pleased to get Romain in very, very late in the day. But we had spent a lot of time – weeks and weeks and weeks trying to get Romain in.”
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Azeez, who has returned to training, will be hoping to make his long-awaited debut for Brighton this weekend when they face Sunderland in the Premier League.
The Super Eagles forward has yet to feature for his new club after suffering an injury during Millwall’s opening-day Championship fixture and will be very eager to show the Brighton fans his quality.
