The text message that led to young Sonny Aljofree becoming a main man for Rotherham United

An unknown number flashed up on Alex Bruce's phone.

It was Sonny Aljofree pitching for an opportunity to try to earn a contract with Rotherham United.

Bruce, having just taken charge of the Millers, was impressed.

"He texted me over the summer and said he was without of club, had just left Manchester United and had had a couple of loans, the head coach said. "I'd never met him before. I liked the way he reached out. He didn't go through an agent, he didn't go through a mate."

The 21-year-old was invited to appear as a trialist in the third match of pre-season, at Matlock Town, on July 18.

He hasn't missed a game since.

Just two months later, Aljofree is a key component of Rotherham's backline as they seek to break into the top half of the table. In four more friendlies, one Carabao Cup tie and six fourth-tier outings, the centre-back has certainly proved his worth.

"He's had the same direct approach as that text since he walked into the building," Bruce said. "He turned up for pre-season with a bag over his shoulder and he got straight to it. There was no ducking out of anything."

Aljofree comes from good footballing stock. His father, Hasney, was a respected left-back and centre-half who played in the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers and had a successful time at Plymouth Argyle during a pro career stretching from 1998 to 2010 that also encompassed stints with Dundee United and Swindon Town.

Forty-one-year-old Bruce, also a central defender during his playing days, started out in Manchester United's junior ranks, and Aljofree Senior, now aged 48, was a Red Devils youth coach for a spell.

"I'd heard about Sonny," the Millers boss. "I knew his dad. I'd met his dad a couple of times through our Old Trafford connections."

Aljofree Junior was schooled at Manchester United and was a loanee at fourth-tier sides Accrington Stanley and Notts County before being released by the Premier League giants at the end of last season.

Rotherham have him for the next two years, and his no-nonsense defending and ease on the ball have drawn comparisons from admiring fans with past Millers greats Richard Wood and Kari Arnason.

"He's chucked himself straight into the deep end," said Bruce. "He's trained every day from the moment he's been here. He's performed very, very well, very consistently, and I think he's a really good prospect for the future."

As we all know, Wood is now a coach at the club.

And a certain young man is learning as much as he can from that mean, grizzled competitor who became a legend during nine years of wearing a red-and-white shirt with distinction.

The media turned up at Roundwood last Thursday for a press conference ahead of the weekend clash at Northampton Town.

Training had ended a good while ago, but two figures were hunched over a laptop in the otherwise-deserted communal room going through video clips.

The old number 6 and the new number 14.