GARY Rowett wants a “really competitive battle” between Bart Bialkowski and George Long next season – and says Millwall’s first signing of the summer will “push hard” for the goalkeeper’s jersey.
Long, 27, will officially join the Lions on a free transfer from Hull on July 1, the first week of pre-season training ahead of their fifth consecutive season in the Championship.
It’s the second permanent transfer in his career for Long – who made his debut as a 17-year-old for Sheffield United in the Championship in 2011 – after loan spells in League Two and League One with Oxford and AFC Wimbledon. Long also played in the Scottish Premiership on loan at Motherwell.
Rowett believes Bialkwoski – who hasn’t missed a minute of league action since his debut in the first game of the 2019-20 campaign – has been the best stopper in the Championship over the last two seasons, but said Long is an “ambitious” player.
Long replaces Frank Fielding in the squad.
“The key really is the competition,” Rowett told NewsAtDen. “For that competition we wanted someone maybe around their mid-20s that had tasted Championship football but maybe wasn’t quite getting that opportunity and had the potential.
“George desperately wanted to come, he saw it as a really good opportunity for himself. He’s an ambitious player, he still thinks he can play at the highest level.
“Our job is to make that a really competitive battle with George and Bart.
“Bart’s our No.1 at the moment, he’s earned the right to be No.1. He’s played and probably been the best keeper in the Championship, in my opinion, in the last two seasons.
“But we want to increase that competition.
“I think George will really try to push hard to get that spot. He’s very agile, very athletic, an excellent kicker and an excellent distributor of the ball.
“So slightly different in certain aspects, brings slightly different things to the table. We’ve got a team of goalkeepers now that can work with [goalkeeping coach] LT [Lee Turner].
“We believe that can help us become a stronger squad.”
Image: Millwall FC