GEORGE Saville has tipped his international colleague Daniel Ballard to be a huge success at Millwall.
The 21-year-old secured a season-long loan move from Arsenal last week, becoming Gary Rowett’s third summer addition – just 48 hours before he was joined by his Northern Ireland teammate Saville.
Ballard arrives with little first-team football to his name, and hasn’t yet tested himself at Championship level, but the centre-back more than held his own in League One with Blackpool last season – helping the Seasiders earn promotion through the play-offs.
Despite not making a single appearance at this level previously, Ballard is a regular for Northern Ireland and has already won five caps following his debut against Romania in the Nations League back in September, two weeks shy of his 21st birthday.
But whilst the defender is short of Championship experience, he’s already got facing Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland on his CV, and Saville is more than confident that he can cope with the demands of the second tier.
“He’s brilliant,” he said. “I’ve got no concerns over Dan; he’s got great maturity for his age, good experience, he went out and had a good year at Blackpool.
“He’s played international level with me, held his own and had some brilliant performances.
“So, for me, Dan is a great signing, he’s fantastic for the football club, and the way he plays, his bravery, I think he’s going to really suit Millwall.”
*The full interview with Saville is in Thursday’s Southwark News, which is available for just 50p.