After losing in the play-offs the year before, Millwall has had a challenging start to the 2026–27 Championship season. Alex Neil will be hoping for some luck in the medical department sooner rather than later.

With four wins, three draws, and five losses after 12 games, Millwall is now ranked 13th in the Championship standings. Alex Neil’s team has so far found it difficult to duplicate their performance from the previous season, which saw them finish third and narrowly lose to Hull City in the play-offs.

With players like Tristan Crama, Lukas Jensen, Josh Coburn, Casper De Norre, Mathis Servais, and Mihailo Ivanovic among those who have spent time in the treatment room in the early going of the season, Neil will draw attention to the sheer number of injuries the Lions have already suffered.

Particularly after showing promise in his first two years at Bermondsey, Ivanovic has been a huge miss for Millwall.

After moving to Millwall for £2.8 million, Mihailo Ivanovic had a strong debut season.

Ivanovic, who had previously played for Italian team Sampdoria, signed a £2.8 million contract with Millwall in the summer of 2024 from Serbian team Vojvodina.

The 21-year-old, who first arrived as a youth, signed with Neil Harris before Neil took over at The Den in December 2024. In his first season there, he scored 12 goals in 37 Championship games, establishing himself as one of the continent’s top forward prospects.

As Millwall considered whether to cash in for a quick profit after a year or continue with his growth, it was not surprise that his performances in the English capital garnered interest from outsiders.

In the summer of 2025, Millwall turned down Parma’s £7 million offer for Mihailo Ivanovic.

Following an outstanding first season at Bermondsey, Ivanovic attracted interest from teams all over the continent, notably Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the UK. Italian team Parma made a bid of approximately £7 million for the striker.

In recent years, Millwall has established a reputation for being particularly astute in the transfer market, making substantial profits on players like Zian Flemming, Japhet Tanganga, Romain Esse, and, most recently, Femi Azeez. Ivanovic’s sale would yield a swift and substantial profit.

The Lions, however, chose to reject Parma’s strategy and instead intensified their attack on the Serbian.

Mihailo Ivanovic received a new deal from Millwall, and Alex Neil may now regret his move choice.

Ivanovic was given a new long-term contract by Millwall to stay in Bermondsey for the foreseeable future after they rejected Parma’s bid. Millwall decided to keep developing the striker in the hopes that he may lead them to the Premier League or generate even greater profit.

The Serbian scored nine goals and provided three assists in 44 Championship games last season, which is by no means a poor record. However, Millwall would be lying if they claimed they hadn’t hoped for more.

Josh Coburn is already in the wings, and the Lions added Lyndon Dykes and Tairyk Arconte over the summer to add further competition up top.

Ivanovic missed the first two and a half months of the season due to a fractured metatarsal; he just returned to action against Portsmouth off the bench.

Ivanovic has plenty of time to regain his form and explain why Millwall put all of their eggs in one basket with him, but he needs to start playing sooner rather than later. If he doesn’t, the Lions won’t be able to recover much of the £7 million they paid for him just a year ago.

When Mihailo Ivanovic recovers from his injury, Alex Neil will be expecting more from him.

Given Millwall’s current injury crisis, Ivanovic will probably be gradually reintroduced into the team to improve match fitness after making his comeback against Portsmouth rather than being thrown right into the deep end.

However, Millwall needs to find some form and put points on the board as soon as possible if they want to genuinely contend for a play-off berth this season; else, they risk falling behind.

Ivanovic can be very important in those endeavours, since Neil will be counting on the Serbian sensation to lead the race for the top eight and support his choice to put more pressure on him.