Centre-forward arrival imminent for injury-hit Rotherham United
ROTHERHAM United are on the brink of signing a new striker and the deal could be announced as soon as tomorrow.
The early stages of the Millers' League One campaign have been blighted by injuries and they were without four forwards for Saturday's 3-0 loss at Cardiff City.
An extra frontman has been their priority recruitment target since they lost top scorer Sam Nombe to a long-term hamstring problem just over a week ago.
Speaking after the defeat in South Wales, manager Matt Hamshaw said: “Hopefully I'm close to another striker, which we need desperately. I'm hopeful that we can get that done on Monday.”
The Advertiser understands that the player is with a Premier Club and is a young attacker who Rotherham have been chasing for several weeks. The move was close to being wrapped on Friday but the Millers ran out of time.
“We tried really hard to get it done yesterday,” Hamshaw said. “Fingers crossed. These things are never done until they're done but we're quite hopeful. As far as I am aware, everything is agreed.”
Another man to miss out against the Bluebirds as he headed into a crowded treatment room was midfielder Shaun McWilliams who reported an issue on the eve of the contest.
“He felt his groin yesterday,” Hamshaw said. “I think I've run over a few black cats. It is what it is.”
The transfer window is approaching its final fortnight and Hamshaw would also like to strengthen his squad in other areas before the September 1 close of business.
The Millers' injury problems saw three academy products named as substitutes and one of them, James Clarke, was handed his league debut in the second half.
“We brought Ciaran McGuckin on, Clarkey's come on at the end,” Hamshaw said. “We've got young Kane (Richardson) on the bench. Look, I'm not being disrespectful, but they probably shouldn't be in and around it at this moment.”
With the playing budget lower than in recent seasons, some members of the squad will have to leave AESSEAL New York Stadium to free up money for new arrivals.
“I'm trying to make the team better all the time,” Hamshaw said. “But I'm well aware of where we're at. We might have to shuffle the pack a little bit, we might have to move players on. We're going in a certain direction. Myself and the club know where that is.”