Millwall boss Gary Rowett has confirmed he will keep tabs on the situations of former Leeds United loanees Charlie Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton.
Rowett was speaking in an interview with NewsAtDen, where he claimed the situation is out of Millwall’s hands at this stage but is not ruling anything out.
Both players made the temporary switch across the capital last summer but look set to return to Leeds this summer, despite an option to buy having been negotiated in the deal for Shackleton.
Shackleton made 36 Championship appearances during his time at the Den, though only 17 of those came from the start.
Cresswell, meanwhile, recovered from some difficulties early on to establish himself as a key player in their push for the play-offs, starting 25 matches and scoring five goals until injury ruled him out of the final seven games.
Rowett open to Cresswell and Shackleton returns
With Leeds still unsure as to what division they will be playing in next season, it is very difficult at this stage to know what will happen to those that have been out on loan, like Cresswell and Shackleton.
Both clearly made an impact during their time at Millwall and just maybe, they’d have made the top six had it not been for Cresswell’s injury.
On whether they could return, Rowett says it is hard to find that out so early into the summer but both players will remain firmly in their thinking.
He said: “With all of those players, you’re always seeing what happens, what’s their next step. That will be out of our hands with all of the loan players.
“They all go back to their clubs and their clubs then decide what is their plan moving forward for those players.
“It’s very difficult to find that out early. A lot of those players will have good options if they’re not staying at their current clubs for next season.
“Therefore, we’ll have those discussions and see where we are but it’s probably difficult to answer that definitively.”
If Leeds were to go down, it is almost certain that Cresswell will have a big part to play in the Championship next season.
His loan spell at Millwall proves he has what it takes to cope with the physicality of the division and he will be a big asset to the squad, particularly given both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente are expected to leave.
It is more difficult to see a future for Shackleton, though. Leeds negotiated an option-to-buy last summer for a reason and he feels like one who will depart regardless.