'He wants to be with us' ... Peterborough United's view on Rotherham United loanee Peter Kioso

The right-back found himself out of favour in S60 under former boss Matt Taylor and dropped down a division in the summer to join Peterborough United where he has played such a major role in their promotion push that he has been made captain.

Rotherham have the option to recall the 24-year-old in the New Year window but doing so would go against the player's wishes, reckons Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony.

“I’m sure Peter wants to stay with us,” he said. “We love him. He’s a great skipper and all the other players look up to him. He’s only 24, but he’s one of our oldest players.”

The Millers are in the process of naming a successor to Taylor who was sacked last month and Peterborough are hoping the new man opts to leave Kioso where he is.

“I was always under the impression we had Peter for the season and the call-back was there in case of injuries,” MacAnthony said.

“We have to be respectful of Rotherham. They did a deal with us in the summer but Peter is their player. They paid money for him and they still pay him.

“If he went it would be a kick in the wotsits, but we couldn’t squeal about it. If Rotherham do take Peter back we wouldn’t be hanging around to see if he becomes available again. We would move on to Plan B.”

Rotherham shelled out to take Kioso from Luton Town in the summer of 2022 during the reign of Taylor's predecessor, Paul Warne.

Warne left within months of the arrival of the former Hartlepool United man who made only 13 appearances in his first season at New York through a combination of injuries and Taylor not selecting him.

This term, he has played 21 times for Peterborough and become a huge fans' favourite at London Road.