adminAlex Neil discusses how Millwall’s two European signings have settled in – and hints at first-team opportunities for young French midfielder
ALEX Neil discussed how summer signing Derek Mazou-Sacko has settled so far – and suggested he could be in line for minutes soon amid a backlog of injuries.
The Lions signed the midfielder from Ligue 2 side Rodez for an undisclosed fee in the final days of the summer window, with Mazou-Sacko agreeing a long-term deal.
The 20-year-old came through Troyes’ academy, making thirteen appearances following his first-team debut in 2021, before joining Rodez in 2024.
The former French under-18s international made 31 Ligue 2 appearances in his sole full season at the club, nine of which were starts.
Neil thinks the length of Mazou-Sacko’s adjustment period will be up to the player.
“That’ll be really based on him,” Neil told NewsAtDen on Tuesday. “It’ll depend on how well he does, how quickly he settles, how much he can learn the language.
“He’s very restricted in terms of communication at the moment. So that’s something we’re going to have to try and help him with, and try and get him up to speed as quickly as we can.
“But he seems to be able to take messages on board when we’re doing the sort of tactical board stuff and describing different elements of what we want him to do. He seems to pick that up pretty quickly.”
Asked when he might get first-team opportunities, Neil said: “I feel at the moment, while we’re stretched in certain areas of the team as far as maybe injuries are going, he might get his opportunities sooner rather than later. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”
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