Millwall should steer clear of transfer for Kevin Nisbet this summer: Opinion

Having finished just outside of the play-off spots in 2021-22, it looked as though Millwall were finally going to crack the top six in the Championship this year – only for a cruel twist of fate on the final day of the campaign as they lost 4-3 to Blackburn Rovers and dropped out.

The difference between Millwall making the play-offs comfortably and falling out at the final stage may have happened in January when they lost out on signing Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet, who could have potentially won them a few more points as a match-winner.

It looked like Nisbet was on the way to The Den in the final few days of the January window and had completed a medical – only for the Scotsman himself to turn down the deal at the very last minute.

Millwall were likely never going to go away in a hurry though – and they haven’t following the end of the 2022-23 season.

What do we know about Millwall’s current stance on Kevin Nisbet?

The Lions were always likely to renew their interest in the striker after he stayed fit for the majority of the rest of the campaign, and true to form in recent days their keenness has been well documented by the media.

And according to reports north of the border from the Daily Record, Millwall have once again agreed a seven-figure fee with Hibernian for the 26-year-old, with the Easter Road outfit having previously agreed a £2.2 million figure in January.

However, Nisbet is currently on holiday ahead of Scotland’s international fixtures so any deal is not likely to be completed anytime soon as he weighs up his future, with Blackburn, Bristol City and Galatasaray also reportedly interested too.

Why wouldn’t signing Kevin Nisbet be a good deal for Millwall?

For all we know, Nisbet could very well come into the fold at The Den and be a success, but there’s definitely major risks that come with signing him.

One aspect is that the perceived quality of the Scottish Premiership – where he has plied his trade for the past three season – is a poor one aside from Rangers and Celtic, and many players who do make the move to England do not translate their form.

31 goals in 78 league appearances isn’t outstanding by any stretch of the imagination and he only netted five times in 26 appearances for Hibs in the Scottish top flight last season, so there could be a consistency issue as well.

Perhaps most worrying of all though is that in February 2022, Nisbet ruptured his ACL and that in itself is always a red flag as there is not only a risk of the same knee going again, but there’s a risk of the other knee being injured as well in the future.

Nisbet came back from that injury in December and scored 12 times from 20 appearances in all competitions – a very good record indeed and it means his stock is high – but there will certainly be other strikers out there for a similar fee who won’t come with the same risks that Nisbet brings.