Crystal Palace and Leeds United already sent assurances over Millwall transfer
Millwall reportedly rejected bids for the defender in January but could face renewed interest.
Crystal Palace and Sunderland are two of four Premier League clubs linked with a move for Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga this summer and they have already been given assurances that the player is capable in the top flight.
The Express carries reports of interest from the Eagles and the Black Cats with newly promoted Burnley and Sunderland also said to be monitoring the player’s availability. The outlet adds that a £1.2 million release clause can be activated by Premier League club this summer.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man has been at Millwall for the past year-and-a-half and turned heads with his performances in the Championship. The Lions are said to have rejected bids for the player in January that were in excess of £1.2 million, instead choosing to prioritise their play-off push.
Crystal Palace and Leeds United eye Millwall transfer swoop
There are always questions over whether a Championship star can make the step up to the top flight but any suitors in Tanganga have been given reassurances of that. Speaking about the 26-year-old after a particularly impressive performance against Leeds United last season, in which the defender scored the winner in a 1-0 victory, former Millwall boss Neil Harris said: “That’s why I rung him every day in the summer. I get on brilliantly with Japh. I just promised him rhythm, games, doing the best we can to keep him fit and giving him a platform to enjoy his football, and to re-start and kickstart his career again, because he’s a Premier League player all day long, we all know that.
“He’s had a really tough four years with injuries and disappointing loans, where it hasn’t quite worked for him and he’s not been looked after in the right manner to keep him fit after a couple of long-term injuries. We want him on the pitch every week and he knows his place in the team. I know what he’s excellent at, which is pretty much everything.”
Tanganga, who already has 27 Premier League appearances to his name, was also praised by Jose Mourinho while at Tottenham Hotspur. Following his first league start against Liverpool, Mourinho said: “He played well. I think the kid has reason to be very happy with his level, not with the result obviously, but with his first game in the Premier League. It couldn’t be a bigger one and he did it amazingly.
“First on the right and then on the left, first Mane and then Salah, and I think he was fantastic so I don’t want to take any credit for that. I worked with him only for a couple of months. I think academy, coaches who worked with him for so many years.”
Japhet Tanganga on Premier League ambitions
The Premier League is something that Tanganga is dreaming of too. Millwall missed out on a play-off space on the last day of the Championship season and will be targeting the top six next term. Speaking during the campaign, the defender said: “It’s crazy how bunched up it always seems to be around mid-table. The start could have been a bit better, but where we are in the table is a good reflection of the start we’ve had.
“There are some games I feel like we have played really well and haven’t won. Where we are is a good start, I’d say. Sometimes there are games where we have played well and haven’t won. Those games we can look at ourselves and say we probably weren’t at our best, but that’s where you need to stick in and get a result like we did over the weekend.
“It’s definitely an ambition to get to the Premier League and there’s nothing wrong with ambition. “You have to take it step-by-step. We had a hard summer with losing Matty [Sarkic] and we’re starting to gel together well now.”
In other news, ‘Medical Booked’: Crystal Palace to sign Champions League star.
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