IT HASN’T taken long for Zian Flemming to establish himself as a fan favourite at Millwall.
From his immense quality on the pitch to his humble and friendly personality off it, the Dutchman’s profile has risen dramatically since arriving in South London back in June. Dubbed ‘the Bermondsey Bergkamp’ by the club’s supporters, he’s already scored eight goals in just seventeen league matches despite missing the early stages of the campaign through injury.
His performances haven’t gone unnoticed either. The 24-year-old was nominated for the Championship Player of the Month award for October and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. His hat-trick against Preston North End on Saturday afternoon is the latest in a line of incredible performances that have helped the Lions climb into the top six ahead of the World Cup break.
Of course, Gary Rowett recognises what Flemming has brought to his side, highlighting the extra work that he’s put in to become one of the best players in the division so far this season.
“He’s very level-headed, but there’s different parts to him,” the Millwall boss said.
“I think I’ve spoken about his professionalism, the way he recovers. He knows the Championship is a tough league, he’s put muscle on, a little bit of extra size on because he knows he needs that to compete.
“What he’s got is that little bit of quality and composure. I felt his characteristics would suit the Championship. Even though he’s got that Dutch bit of quality, he’s got that steel and a bit of physicality as well.
“The other thing that people don’t see is that he’s a leader. He’s come in and started to give people information, he understands the game really well. He’s a very easy player to be able to tell him something tactically and he gets it straight away, and he can help some of the other players.
“I think there’s lots of attributes, but he’s a really mature young guy with an incredible future ahead of him if he keeps working as hard as that.
“Our players as well, we’re a hard-working team. I think our players appreciate what he brings to us as an individual. We spoke about that last year with someone like Jed [Wallace] leaving, but I felt Zian would bring something different to the table and different attributes that make us a different type of team.”
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