Rotherham United and January spending. And who's the Millers player dropping a new-deal hint?

ROTHERHAM United could spend money on transfer fees in the January window as they look to halt the slide that has left them on the brink of the Championship drop zone.

New boss Matt Taylor has talked previously of making loan and free-agent signings this month to strengthen a squad that have won only one of their last 12 matches to lie a place above the bottom three.

But he revealed this week that there is also the prospect of the club paying to bring players to AESSEAL New York Stadium on full contracts.

The manager described conversations on the subject with chairman Tony Stewart as “positive”.

“The number of signings we need, it’s probably going to be a collection of loans, possibly a couple of free signings and possibly a couple of fees involved,” he said.

“But it’s got to be right for the club. We have to be so careful because sometimes a fee can involve huge wages and we can’t pay those huge wages. We know what our wage structure looks like. We’re certainly trying to be aggressive with the market to get our work done as early as possible.”

The Millers operate on one of the smallest budgets in a division from which they have been relegated three times since 2017.

Taylor is already talking to targets and hopes to have reinforcements in place by the time his side face Blackburn Rovers at New York a week on Saturday.

“The conversations are happening,” he said. “I’ve spoken to a few players on the back of (head of recruitment) Rob Scott speaking to them and lining it up with agents.

“Once a conversation happens — either face to face or on Zoom or over the telephone — it goes back and forth with other clubs elsewhere. We’re in a certain race then, I suppose.”

Rotherham, who are looking to arrange loan moves for youngsters like Jake Hull, Hamish Douglas and Mack Warne, take a break from their second-tier programme this weekend to travel to League One high-fliers Ipswich Town in the third round of the FA Cup.

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VIKTOR Johansson has dropped a big hint that he is the player who has agreed a new contract with Rotherham United.

The goalkeeper, who has been in superb form this season, is one of five players to have been offered fresh deals.

When asked if he was going to sign, he replied: “The club know what I want. I’ll leave it at that.” When the follow-up question was ‘Do the club want to give you what you want?’, he answered: “Yes.”

Manager Matt Taylor hasn’t named the five players involved in negotiations but they are thought to be Johansson, Dan Barlaser, Ben Wiles, Chiedozie Ogbene and Wes Harding.

Official confirmation of one deal had been expected by now.

“I don’t know whether bank holidays and the New Year have delayed it,” Taylor said. “I’ve been told, I’ve been guaranteed, it’s all done and dusted. I don’t see any reason why it won’t happen.”