Rotherham United bid goes in to Dutch club

They have submitted a bid to a team in Holland for a player who can operate as a left-back or a left wing-back.

The two clubs are a little apart in their valuations but talks have reached an advanced stage.

“We’ve made them an offer,” Millers assistant manager Richie Barker confirmed.

Left winger Mickel Miller has already been added to the squad as Paul Warne’s men gear up for next season’s Championship squad.

Rotherham’s management and players are taking a break from training this week but there has been no halt to the recruitment process, with the Millers looking to bring in up to eight new players.

The Advertiser understands that productive talks have now taken place with a loan target who is ready to fly in to survey the set-up at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

He is attached to a club in England but is from mainland Europe and has been spending time back there.

The Millers, who first returned to training on July 1, are back at their Roundwood base on Monday after a week’s holiday that was always part of their pre-season planning

“We wanted to get three weeks of good work into the players and then give them a break,” Barker said. “We’ve been respectful throughout about the rules governing Covid-19 and we’ve had 100 per cent negative tests.

“The players have worked extremely hard. We got them to a level where we were comfortable they could have a week off and get ready for the even harder work that will come.

“September 12 still hasn’t been confirmed as a start date for next season, but we’re working on the basis that it will be. That gives us time for a six/seven-week run-in starting next week, which is longer than a normal pre-season.”

Several players have taken the chance to holiday abroad and Barker believes a short spell of recharging will lead to a happier, more focused squad.

“With international travel now open, it was unfair to say to the players ‘Look, you’re not entitled to some kind of break’,” the number two said.

“I appreciate the fact they’ve had a long time off because of the coronavirus situation but, mentally and socially, it’s good for them after lockdown to go and spend some time with their families in a different place to their own house.

“Hopefully, we will have a refreshed and a renewed group when we come back. We’ve got a tough season coming up. You do the right thing by the lads, they appreciate it and you get a little bit more work out of them when they come back.”