Sunderland star 'not someone you can buy at this level' - Millwall boss

Fair to say Gary Rowett is a fan of the Sunderland ace, and he was even before the player's starring role against his side.

Millwall boss Gary Rowett believes Ellis Simms is ‘not someone you can buy’ as a Championship club after admitting he tried to sign him.

Rowett watched as Simms played an important role in Sunderland’s 3-0 win over his side last week, scoring the third and putting in a fine all-round performance.

With January approaching, clubs are starting to solidify their transfer plans and loan deals from the Premier League are always an option. Rowett said he would prefer to sign players on permanent deals, although he did confess to trying to sign Simms last summer.

However, he doesn’t believe buying a player like Simms outright is really an achievable goal for clubs in the Championship.

“You always want to maximise the position for the budget and sometimes that might be a loan player rather than a permanent player,” Rowett said.

“Ellis Simms is an example of that at Sunderland. He’s a player we tried to sign, he went to Sunderland and although he’s on loan, he’s someone you might not be able to buy at this level at that age.”

Another loanee who scored in Sunderland’s win over Millwall was Amad Diallo, who bagged his fourth goal in his last six games.

Rowett commented on him too this week, although he seemed surprised at just how much Man Utd had paid for him. However, he couldn’t help but admire his quality either way.

“I think Manchester United paid a hell of a lot of money for him, I’m led to believe. Someone mentioned 30 odd million quid,” Rowett said.

“He’s obviously a player with that star quality and Sunderland have been starting to get that out of him a bit more consistently.”

ALSO READ: Sunderland youngsters who could REALLY do with a loan move in January