Millwall boss Gary Rowett's stance on out-of-favour Leeds United loanee Charlie Cresswell

Millwall boss Gary Rowett says as far as he is concerned Leeds United loanee Charlie Cresswell will stay at The Den until the end of the season.

Cresswell has struggled for game time with the Lions of late, and was an unused substitute in five of Millwall's last six league games. The England under-21 international was only introduced in the 89th minute in their 1-0 victory at Cardiff City last Saturday.

Leeds have reportedly been looking to terminate Cresswell's loan at The Den, with The Sun linking him with a £4 million switch to Middlesbrough. Sunderland were also believed to be keen on signing Cresswell on loan, but Rowett has responded to the speculation surrounding his future by insisting that he is set to stay at Millwall for the remainder of the season.

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“We’ve signed him because we believe that he’s a young player with fabulous potential," Rowett said. "He’s shown that in the first half of the season, he’s played in probably half of our games. If you’re a young player, you want to play in every game, you want to play all the time.

"The reality is that sometimes it doesn’t happen through no fault of your own. He’s trained really well, he’s been incredibly professional. I think he’s been frustrated at times by not playing, but that’s part of that journey of being a top player.

"As far as I’m concerned, he’s with us until the end of the season, and until someone tells me otherwise, that’s where we’re at."

Cresswell marked his debut with a brace in a 2-0 home victory over Stoke City on the opening day. He featured in seven of their first nine league games, before being left out of the squad for four games in a row.

The 20-year-old was restored to the starting line-up in October for five games, but has started just once since the World Cup break.

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