For Millwall midfielder Casper De Norre, the dream of stepping onto a Premier League pitch is closer than ever—and he's making no secret of just how much it would mean. "Playing even one Premier League game for Millwall would be the highlight of my career," the 29-year-old Belgian told BBC Radio London. "And there's a chance that might happen."

De Norre has been a steady presence in the Lions' midfield since joining in 2023, racking up over 100 Championship appearances across three seasons. While Millwall have narrowly missed the play-offs in previous campaigns, this year tells a different story. Under manager Alex Neil, the club has already secured a top-six spot, and there's even a shot at automatic promotion on the final day.

Here's the scenario: if Millwall beat Oxford United at The Den on Saturday and second-placed Ipswich Town lose to QPR at home, the Lions could leapfrog into the Premier League's automatic promotion places. "It's been like this for a few weeks because Ipswich always had games in hand," De Norre explained. "It was about us trying to put as much pressure on them as we can. Obviously, when you have it in your own hands it's always better—now it's just about applying pressure."

Even if they fall short of second place, Millwall will have another shot through the play-offs—a path that would still mark the club's first-ever promotion to the Premier League. Reflecting on the journey, De Norre added, "When I joined, we'd missed out on the last day against Blackburn. It's always been the goal, getting into the top six, especially since Alex Neil came in. We really took a step forward."

That momentum has been building. "How we ended last season was already a big step forward in terms of believing we could do it," he said. "It was a little bit of a miracle that we put ourselves in that position last year. That gave us the confidence to keep building and try to do the same or even better this year. That's what we've done. It's really nice to finally get into the play-offs—and hopefully maybe even more."

De Norre, a former Belgium Under-21 international, has tasted European football with Champions League and Europa League appearances at previous club Genk. But this feels different. "When I came to Millwall, it was always in the back of my mind that this was probably my only chance of playing in the Premier League in my career," he admitted. "I am now 29. It was always my goal to achieve it through Millwall. If you have that opportunity, you have to grab it."

For fans and neutrals alike, Saturday's showdown at The Den is shaping up to be a defining moment—not just for the club, but for a player who's poured everything into making this dream a reality.