The Dan Gore phone call as Manchester United youngster Jayce Fitzgerald joins Rotherham United on loan
The 19-year-old is signing number 13 for the Millers
New boy Jayce Fitzgerald was giving a first interview to Rotherham United's media team when his phone rang.
The teenager's loan move to the Millers will still a couple of days away from being publicly confirmed, but a select few were already in the know.
His pal, Dan Gore, was putting in a FaceTime call to wish him well.
That link the Millers have with Manchester United is an important and growing one.
Twenty-one-year-old Gore, of course, shone so much at AESSEAL New York Stadium in a spell away from the Premier League giants that he was named Rotherham's Player of the Year last term.
The Millers also took good care of another Red Devils prospect, Gabriel Biancheri, even though his time in South Yorkshire didn't work out quite as well.
The official announcement of Fitzgerald's arrival on a year-long deal came on Monday, and Manchester United are happy to see another of their youngsters head to New York for a first real taste of senior football.
The 19-year-old midfielder is the 13th signing of the summer and the Millers were hoping for one more incoming - a forward - before Tuesday’s 11pm close of the transfer window.
Raised in Salford, the player has been part of the youth set-up at Old Trafford since childhood and he was an unused substitute for the first team on three occasions in late 2024 during Ruud van Nistelrooy's stint as interim manager.
He was on the bench for a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, a 1-1 top-flight draw with Chelsea and a 2-0 victory over Greek side PAOK Salonika in the Europa League.
Fitzgerald has won the Under-18 Premier League, the U-18 Premier League Cup and the FA Youth Cup with his parent club and has made four appearance for their U-21s in the Vertu Trophy - three last year and one the season before that.