May 27 2005

Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace have agreed a £1.1m deal for Millwall centre-back Darren Ward.

The fee for Millwall's Player of the Year could rise to £1.5m, depending on appearances and sell-on clauses.

Millwall chairman Jeff Burnige is unhappy Ward, dubbed the "Peckham Beckham", wanted to leave and especially to join local rivals Palace.

He said: "I made it abundantly clear to Darren, his advisors and many enquiring clubs that Millwall were not seeking to make him available for transfer.

"Despite our position, at the end of last week, it emerged that at least three clubs were considering bids of around £1m. One of these was a Premiership club, and Darren seemed quite determined to move on.

"At the last minute, Crystal Palace made their offer, which threw a spanner in the works, to say the least. I am sure that all Millwall fans would have preferred him to move to a Premiership club, and certainly not to one of our fiercest rivals.

"However, once Darren had made his decision, the board had to accept the situation and the fee agreed represents good business for our club.

"The positive side of this deal is that it will greatly benefit our finances and the new manager, when he is appointed, will therefore be operating with a clean slate. He will now be able to start work knowing that he can shape the squad to his own vision, without the need to generate money first."