Millwall boss Gary Rowett is not paying attention to speculation linking Jake Cooper with a move to the Premier League, as per a report by London News Online.
The Lions’ defender has been linked with top flight duo Aston Villa and Southampton recently.
Cooper, who is 25 years old, has played a key part in Millwall’s rise into Play-Off contention this season.
The 6ft 6inc centre-back joined the London side in January 2017 from Reading and helped them gain promotion from League One in his first season at the club. He has since established himself in the second tier and is one of the Lions’ prized assets.
Rumours of their players moving to the top flight is nothing new to Millwall and Rowett has addressed the links, as per London News Online: “A lot of players are going to be linked to other clubs because they are performing really, really well and you’re sat in the top 10 of a very competitive league in the Championship.”
“But at the same time there is certainly no panic for the club that he’s going elsewhere. He is a player we want to be here for a long time and develop with us – hopefully he can see the progression. I don’t read too much into the situation. If you think about January there were so many stories about Jed [Wallace] but he is still our player and performing well.”
He added: “You take it as part and parcel of the game, so I don’t read an awful lot into it until someone at the club says: ‘We’ve had a £10million bid for Jake Cooper’. Until then I don’t give it a second thought.”
Millwall could face a battle to hold onto Cooper this summer if he continues to perform.
