Millwall will always feel robbed over £1.5m deal - he turned into a Premier League icon | OneFootball

Tim Cahill impressed for the Lions but they will feel hard done by due to the cut-price fee he joined the Toffees for

Millwall hit the jackpot with the signing of Tim Cahill in 1998, as he went on to become a legend at The Den in his six years at the club, but they may still feel a tinge of regret at the small fee it took for Everton to sign him in 2004, given his impact in the Premier League and hero status he won on Merseyside.

Cahill joined the Lions on a free transfer from Sydney United at just 18-years-old, after he had previously moved across the world from his native Australia to live with his relatives for the chance to prove himself in English football.

He soon became a key man for the club in their third-tier plight, and helped them win promotion to the Second Division in 2001, as well as heading their iconic 2004 FA Cup run that saw him score the winning goal in the semi-final against Sunderland before an eventual loss to Manchester United in the final.

His impressive second-tier exploits as a quick and skilful attacking midfielder saw Everton pay just £1.5 million for his services ahead of the 2004/05 Premier League campaign. That fee felt pretty lacklustre at the time, and it turned out to be a real bargain for the Toffees, much to the disappointment of those connected to Millwall.

Tim Cahill was impressive in his first spell at Millwall

Millwall took a chance on an unproven Cahill with the club struggling in the third-tier, and their decision turned out to be a masterstroke as he grew into one of the finest attackers in the EFL prior to his move to Goodison Park.

It did not take long for him to make a serious impact in south-east London after his debut in May 1998, as he helped the club reach the 1999 Football League Trophy Final, where they lost to Wigan Athletic, and he netted seven times in 39 appearances.

He improved even further in his second full season at Millwall, with 12 league goals in 45 games as they reached the play-off semi-finals, then fired the Lions back to the second-tier in 2000/01 after five years away, as they finished top of the league with 93 points and he netted nine times in 41 appearances.

Cahill's performances did not slow down any in the second-tier, and he bagged another 13 goals in 43 league outings to help the club to a surprise fourth-placed finish, but they lost to eventual winners Birmingham City in the play-off semi-finals.

The versatile forward missed seven months of the 2002/03 campaign with a cruciate ligament injury, but returned to form in his final season at The Den, with nine strikes in 40 First Division games. 2003/04 is best remembered for Millwall's FA Cup exploits, however, and it was Cahill who popped up with the winner in the semi-final before a tough 3-0 defeat in the final to Manchester United.

Cahill became an Everton and Premier League icon after cut-price move

Everton's £1.5m move for Cahill, who was 24-years-old at the time, looked like a pretty smart piece of business on the back of his cup showings, and it actually turned out to give them one of their greatest forwards of all-time. He is also now regarded as one of Australia's finest players, as well as a Premier League icon, because of his time with the Toffees.

Cahill made an instant impact at Goodison Park after finishing as their top goalscorer in his first season at the club with 11 league goals, and being named their Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season for his standout performances under David Moyes.

He continued to score at a decent rate as the Toffees regularly qualified for the UEFA Cup, and was even named as one of 50 nominees for the Ballon d'Or in 2006, becoming the first Everton player in 18 years to be nominated after a good league campaign and some star turns in the World Cup that year.

Moyes moved to play him as a lone striker more often from 2008/09 onwards, and he was a key part of the team that finished as FA Cup runners-up that same season with nine goals in 40 appearances across the whole campaign. He went on to net 10 times in 43 appearances in 2009/10, then bagged eight times in 28 outings in 2010/11.

Cahill was always a reliable scorer for the Toffees, even in bad moments for the club, and he enjoyed the prime of his career at Goodison Park while repaying back his small transfer figure and much, much more. He eventually departed after eight years to join the New York Red Bulls in 2012, and they were even able to fetch back most of his initial fee in a £1m move.

He later made an emotional return to Millwall at 38 years of age in 2018, with the club in the Championship, but was only able to take to the pitch for a total of 65 minutes over 10 league appearances.

The Australian legend has insisted that he is "indebted to the club forever" for the chance they took on him as an 18-year-old apprentice all those years ago, but while he is a hero among supporters at The Den, they will feel hard done by due to the puny relative fee that Everton paid to sign him in 2004.