Millwall Bolster Their Ranks With The Signings Of Casper de Norre And Wes Harding
After brutally missing out on the Play-Offs last season, the Lions have made additions to their strong squad by welcoming Casper de Norre and Wes Harding to The Den.
Starting off with Wes Harding, a player who should be known by most Championship fans. He joins Millwall on a free transfer after rejecting a new contract at Rotherham United.
The defender started almost every game last season for the Millers and this was down to his flexibility with the ability to play right centre-back in a back three or right wing-back.
Harding has nearly 150 appearances to his name in the Championship for Rotherham and Birmingham City. Gary Rowett, the current Millwall manager, has already managed the defender as they shared the dressing room at the Blues.
Rowett highlighted this on the club’s social media channels when giving his thoughts on the signing.
“Wes[Harding] is a player who I know well from my time at Birmingham as he came through the youth system. What always stood out was his character, determination and drive to want to get into the first-team.”
Onto what Harding offers, aside from his flexibility, the defender also possesses good strength and speed. Last season, Harding earned four-goal contributions in a struggling Rotherham side.
Overall, on a free transfer and at a good age of 26, the signing of Wes Harding is a brilliant signing and will help provide competition for a starting place across the backline.
Onto the second signing, who goes by the name of Casper de Norre.
The 26-year-old midfielder has joined Millwall from OH Leuven in the Belgium First Division A for an undisclosed fee on a long-term contract.
His career started at St Truiden before joining Genk in January 2019. A loan spell to OH Leuven followed in October 2020 before the Belgian joined permanently in June 2021.
De Norre has featured for the U17 and U21 teams for Belgium. He also started in the Champions League for Genk against Liverpool away at Anfield and also away to Napoli.
The Belgian is a versatile man with the ability to play at left or right wing-back, however, he has made a name for himself in his home country as a midfielder.
The midfielder has the technical ability to drop deep and help build possession and also has the ability to play forward whilst possessing strong pressing skills and covering distance well.
Playing as a more defensive midfielder last season in Belgium, de Norre picked up four goals and four assists which is extremely impressive for a mid-table side.
Once again, a key factor for the signing was the leadership qualities possessed as de Norre captained OH Leuven. At the age of 26, the Belgian joins at a perfect age where he is yet to reach his peak.
Overall, this could prove to be one of the signings of the season. De Norre seems a perfect upgrade on a Millwall midfield that was defensively solid but lacked that attacking prowess. The 26-year-old possesses the traits seen in George Saville and Billy Mitchell while having an eye on playing forward.
