Rotherham United Sensible transfers 2025
This is my first attempt at writing something on this platform so please stick with me.
I thought I would start by writing something about my beloved football club. For those that don't know it is our centenary season coming up and the plan was to start it celebrating a return to the Championship after our feeble relegation to Division 1 the previous season.
Unfortunately the disastrous return of Steve Evans put paid to those plans and we enter the close season having had big re-set at managerial level in an attempt to re-kindle the succesful period under Paul Warne. Matt Hamshaw (first team coach under Warne) has been brought in, a local lad and club fan I wish him well, he has already overseen the return of Warne's goalkeeping coach Andy Warrington and former Club Captain Richard Wood who has been appointed first team coach. After two seasons of non stop injuries Warnes Head of Medical Ross Burbeary has returned as well. A new assistant manager will be appointed in the next 2 days with Dale Tonge or Lee Bullen rumoured to be the favourites.
Hamshaw has a massive task to turn things around and build a new younger team with a much reduced budget, hence this blog looking at some players that I have seen who I think will make sensible signings.
First up is Luca Hoole, currently at Shrewsbury having joined last summer on a 2 year deal after a fall out with Matt Taylor at Bristol Rovers over a new contract. At 22, Hoole in my opinion is already a good player, a Centre Half or right back by trade he will be ideal to play on the right side of a back 3. He is athletic, strong defensively but also has pace and is able to step out and play. He will not command a big fee but I believe he will thrive in the right environment.
Richard Taylor, another defender this time left footed, has turned down a new contract at St Mirren and looks to be heading back south. Taylor can operate as a left sided defender adapt at centre half or left back, ideal for being the left sided defender in Hamshaws favoured back 3 system. The 24-year-old, from Hackney, spent his youth career with Burnley and has latterly been plying his trade with St Mirren. One of my mates is a Buddies fan and he has been raving about Taylor which brought him to my attention. Taylor signed a short term deal at St Mirren in 2023, quickly extending that to two years. During the 2023-24 campaign, he featured 30 times and last season he went on to make 41 appearances, including four UEFA Conference League qualifiers. A sensible signing who will not be looking for massive wages who can improve further.
The last selection for today is Kegs Chauke, all action midfielder currently at Burton, came through the Southampton academy before joining Burton in 2023 He is out of contract at Burton and turned down their offer, athletic, right age at 23 strong, wins the ball energetic, carrys the ball well reminds me a lot of Ollie Rathbone. In my opinion would be a good signing.
Following on from yesterday's blog, thank you to those people who have commented on X. I just wanted to pick up on a couple of comments, the post is titled “sensible transfers” I watch a lot of games below Championship level all the way down to step7 and I see some really good players who I think given the right opportunities and coaching can help build and blend into a team grow their game and improve our team but come with sensible wages and if a fee is involved it's a sensible fee.
I am realistic about where rufc sit in the Football pyramid and after two years of large losses funded by the oowner I know we have to adapt. Now on X someone has commented about Luke Molyneux at Doncaster, 16 goals and 12 assists confirm he is a good player and I rate him highly but let's be realistic he is under contract until 2027 and he is going to cost a big fee. So is he a realistic or sensible transfer target for us to chase at the moment?
Back to where I started yesterday and sensible transfers I have a few more thoughts today about sensible targets.
First up is a suggestion that assumes that Sean Raggett will not be returning anytime soon and we need a big commanding experienced centre half in the Woody mould to play in the middle of the back 3 who can lead, head it and and kick it when we are under pressure. Matt Pearson fits the bill, he is out of contract at Huddersfield and he would be an affordable and sensible addition to play in that role.
Another slightly older player who I think would help us is; Will Collar - a central midfielder, at 28 he has been key to Stockports progress through the divisions. 40 games in Division 1 last season 8 goals 2 assists he is a footballer in his prime and in a move straight out of the Paul Douglas playbook Stockport did not offer him a new contract until the season ended and with his first child on the way in August he has found himself facing uncertainty in his professional life He is one we could step in and sign. Hard working athletic he ticks all the boxes we are looking for.
Moving on with a younger player that in this instance we would need to pay a fee to acquire but in my opinion he is a gem. Ben Woods - Accrington in my view he is one of the best prospects in Division 2. 22 years old equally adept as an 8 or a 10, 36 games last season 9 goals 6 assists. He would give us creativity. He only signed a new 2.5 year deal in January this year so would cost a fee. However Accrington are up for sale after the local council withdrew permission for the use of the clubs on site club causing the owner Andy Holt to walk away from funding the club, so a fee may be able to be negotiated for a swift deal.
Yesterday FLW published a Tom Eyre (RUFC pod) article suggesting transfer targets and I thought that I would comment on Tom's suggestions.
Dan Gore - A very obvious and maybe realistic target
Terry Taylor - Charlton Taylor was a stand out player at Burton he signed for Charlton in the summer of 2003 but sine the arrival of Nathan Jones his game time has been limited and he was loaned to Northampton in January where he has displayed his Burton form. Would I sign him yes, why is he not on my list? I am not sure he fits the bill as a sensible transfer, he has 12 months left on his contract he will have had a substantial automatic pay increase due to promotion so any deal will be difficult to do. It would probably have to be a loan or Charlton paying up part of his contract.
Seb Revan - Wrexham The player needs no introduction signed for Wrexham last summer, reported to be on decent wages for Division 1 and those wages will have gone up substantially due to promotion. Another I would take but again is it a sensible transfer? For me it would have to be a loan, as a permanent deal would be difficult to do unless Wrexham pay him to leave. It's worth noting that Wrexham have this problem with a lot of players they will need to move on.
Jodi Jones - Notts County Good player sensible transfer? 2 minutes research on google comes up with:
“Jones has had three ACL injuries, two in his left knee, with the first two occurring at Coventry City. The third ACL injury was to his right knee.
Tibia Fracture:
He suffered a small fracture to his tibia while playing for Notts County against Gillingham on September 21, 2024, which sidelined him for several months.
Impact on Career:
The numerous knee injuries have significantly impacted Jones's playing time and career, particularly at Coventry. He has had to rebuild his career after these injuries, first at Coventry and then at Notts County.”
So he is a potential injury risk which is why clubs shy away from paying a fee for him.
Connor Taylor Bristol Rovers
I quote from Toms article “An imposing figure at the back at 6 feet tall, Taylor topped the Rovers’ charts in defensive statistics and across League One, ranking in the top 10 per cent for tackles won, duels won and aerial duels won.
His time with the Gas could be over following relegation, and his impressive defensive season, complete with the physical and technical attributes required for the modern centre-half, means he won't be short of suitors.”
I like Taylor and if we could also sign his former Rovers colleague Luca Hoole, mentioned in the blog and pair them back up that would be great. So why is he not on my list, he is under contract at Rovers with 12 months left to run, they paid Stoke £300k for him in 2023, so I expect they will be asking a decent fee. So he does not fit my sensible transfers brief. Maybe we can do a swap deal with JCH!
Callum Marshall West Ham - To be fair to Tom this one is a decent shout, been on a season long loan at Huddersfield. In Tom's words “Marshall made himself one of the hardest strikers to play against with his running, directness and energy proving himself to be Huddersfield key man as he notched the Player of the Year award for the Terriers.”
You would think that West Ham might aim him at the Championship for a loan next year, if not he is worth a try but you would expect Huddersfield to be favourites again.
Finally Tom has selected Semi Ajayi, I can see why, but his injury record over the last 2 years makes him fail my criteria for a sensible transfer.
Back to my selections Luke Bolton Wrexham, ex Man City youngster, equally adapt all down the right, full back, wing back or as a winger, his adaptability makes him a valuable squad player, stood out for me at Salford, then got swallowed up by the Wrexham signing machine but I expect with 12 months left on his contract he will be moved on. At 25 years of age he has plenty of time to improve and would fit in nicely at NYS.
Ellis Taylor - ex Sunderland academy signed for Harrogate last summer, aged 22, left sided attacker I saw him star as Harrogate beat Fleetwood 3-1 on Easter Monday scoring 1 and assisting 2, he is a proper player, a real talent, he just plays and gets the fans out of their seats. People I know at Hartogate tell me he has been their best player all season and he needs to play with better players. 12 months left on his contract will not attract a big fee.
Rob Street - Lincoln on loan at Doncaster last season. I thought long and hard about putting this one in, on paper why would he leave Lincoln. I first saw him playing for Shrewsbury back in 2023 on loan from Crystal Palace he caught my eye as a skillfull mobile striker, Palace offered him a new contract but he turned it down as he was fed up of going on loan and signed for Cheltenham on a 3 year deal I kept an eye on him, he played 26 games before a season ending injury in January 24. Then last summer he moved on again, Lincoln signing him on a 4 year deal for what I am led to believe was £100k (Palace had a 40% sell on clause) which caused a lot of unrest amongst Cheltenham fans one quote from X as follows:
“thought the bid was supposed to be "significant"?! So, we collect less than £60k for a player who was IMO better than the one we sold for £400k. This is an absolute joke”
He played 6 games for Lincoln early last season and was shipped out in January on loan to Doncaster as he did not fit in with how the Lincoln manager wanted to play. I totally expected Lincoln to change the manager at the end of the season, for what its worth it is not a happy ship behind the scenes their and they also need to move players on for financial reasons. Street can play as 10 goals in 23 appearances for Rovers proves. The lad just wants to play but is hacked off with constant loans that's why he left Palace in the first place and despite having signed a 4 year deal with Lincoln last summer I can see him being moved on by them as he will not accept not being part of their plans and the hierarchy at Lincoln will be keen to bring funds through the door. Richard Wood will have seen first hand this lads talent hopefully he can persuade Hamshaw to chase him and persuade the lad to come here. Trust me whoever gets him will have a gem on their hands and by the way I can't see the Lincoln manager still being in a job at Christmas.
I was not planning on adding anything to the blog today, my next blog post was going to be about two young players in the National leagues that I have been following who I think are capable of stepping up and both are out of contract. By coincidence both today have tuned down contract offers from their current clubs.
First up is Jack Evans of Halifax he is left footed and plays either in midfield left back or left wing back, Evans is 24 came through the academy at Blackburn but drifted off into non league in my opinion whenever I have seen him he has been their best player on the pitch. He was chosen in the Conference Leagues team of the season. He has today announced that he is leaving Halifax to join an efl club.
The second one is young foward Danny Cashman from Worthing of NLS I first saw coachman playing for Brighton in the Academy league, he is mobile quick and skillfull I kept an eye on him and when he moved to Coventry I expected big things from him He lost his way at Coventry and after various loans he left by mutual consent and joined Worthing in NLS He has scored 28 goals in around 80 games, matured and now looks every inch a player playing well below his level. He is out of contract this summer and in my opinion well worth taking on.
Welcome back, in my last post I mentioned Jack Evans at Halifax, since that post he has signed for league 2 Harrogate so I will be keeping an eye on his progress.
I am expecting activity on the signing front to step up with 4 weeks to go before pre-season starts. So onto my final sensible transfer suggestions for now and this time we will concentrate on those forward positions.
First up is Sam Dalby, for me he is one of the best free agents available this summer. Dalby has been full of promise for a number of years money moves to Leeds and then Watford failed to work he dropped levels to Southend the goals flowed and another decent move came this time to Wrexham Once again this did not work out and he was loaned out last season to Dundee Utd where he has scored goals for fun.
Courtesy of @johnwalker_1986 on X “On-Loan from Wrexham he has been one of the signings of the season in the spfl - 14 Goals in 29 Apps - 10.14 xG 7 Headed Goals (The Best Aerial Duels in the League)
The beauty of Sam Dalby is the Simplicity of his Goals: - Pulling onto Blindside of Defenders - Constant Scanning to Keep the Gap - Double Movements in the Box - Perfect Timing when the Cross is Coming”
Dalby is simply an old fashioned Centre Forward he does well in a team that puts lots of balls into the box from wide positions I think he will be ideal for the type of game we will play. Competition for his signature will be tough, Bolton are believed to have made him an offer and Blackpool are also interested.
Dillon Markanday exciting winger free agent after leaving Blackburn had excellent loan spells at Chesterfield (where I first saw him) and Orient. Exactly what we need.
Finally to close this blog I will attempt to tip our first signing and I believe that will be Tyrese Fornah, free agent from Derby.
Well the England bore fest is on TV so I thought I would add to this blog. One of the messages I received asked me about Jack Tabor, now you might say who? He is one of the hottest properties in non-league, why? 127 goals and 40 assists in 91 appearances is why. Ah you might ask for which Sunday League team. Well actually it's for Amershan Town at step 6, in the Combined Counties league. I know, you have never heard of them or the league and even given the amount of games I see in a season neither have I, so what league is step 6? In this area the best known step 6 league is the Northern Counties East League which features local sides such as:
Armthorpe Welfare, Club Thorne Colliery, Dearne & District, Dronfield Town, Glasshoughton Welfare, Golcar United, Handsworth, Horbury Town, Maltby Main, Nostell Miners Welfare, Parkgate, Penistone Church, Rossington Main, Shelley, Swallownest, and Wombwell Town.
Reading up on Tabor his contract is up at Amersham (yes contracts at that level) and he is looking to step up, its reported he has had trials at various National league clubs and even at a league one club. The rumours have him going to Aldershot or Walsall. Is he someone we should look at, honestly, I have no idea as I have never seen him but what I have seen is plenty of games at step 6 in this area and hand on heart there are very few players that you can say would step up. His numbers are superb and make you sit up, could he be the next Jamie Vardy? Time will tell.
What else do we need to discuss this week in relation to the theme of sensible transfers?
Well things are starting to hot up clubs are making signings as players and managers come back from holiday and get back to work and focus their sights on next season.
At Rotherham it still on the surface quiet with the only public announcement being that of Hamish Douglas signing a new contract. However it is my understanding that 3 potential signings are at an advanced stage with talks also going on with agents and players in respect of ther signings. No names at this stage and I will stick with my earlier prediction of who our first signing will be. I understand an outgoing could be quite close and a removal van could be required shortly to deliver a wardrobe to Bristol and if that happens there will be a massive sigh of relief at NYS.
Active in our division already have been Blackpool who have signed Fraser Horsfall after his contract expired at Stockport The 28-year-old became the first signing of the summer, on a 4 year deal before ex-miller Michael Ihiekwe was also confirmed less than 24 hours later on a 3 year deal. Blackpool are one of my ones to watch this coming season.
Bolton are active and just about linked with anyone who looks like they will be a good signing at this level. I have seen them linked today with Nathan Lowe, Lowe had an excellent loan at Walsall in league 1, ending as one of the top scorers, despite being recalled in Jan. Bolton manager Schumacher should be aware of him from his time at Stoke. Also linked is one of my recommendations for rufc, Sam Dalby, according to rumours this is a deal that will happen very soon, I understand he has other offers so we shall see, as I said earlier in the blog Dalby has turned down a new deal at Wrexham after a really good season in Scotland. Hopefully we are in for this lad.
Personally I think Bolton will sign Niall Ennis
Ennis had a great time under Schumacher at Plymouth, and followed him to Stoke as a result, he finished last season on loan at Blackpool and I can see him returning to league 1 with his old boss at Bolton.
Well known to Rotherham fans and discussed earlier in this blog is CB - Semi Ajayi. Semi is also reported to be on Boltons radar, Ajayi looks set to drop back down to L1 this season, and could be a really good option for sides near the top end of the division if he can keep fit, his availability has been a concern, but as we we know he’s a very strong defender.
In other activity in our Division Stevenage have signed Jordan Houghton a defensive midfielder from Plymouth who surprisingly turned down a new contract at Plymouth. Bradford, yes I can't get used to the fact they are back in the Division, have signed two old heads, one is Curtis Tilt from Salford who has we know was chased by Paul Warne for 6 months and “bombed” out by Warne in even less time, lots of different versions of what happened there but that's for another day. Bradford have also signed ex Doncaster defender Joe Wright from Kilmarnock and got themselves into a dispute with their player of the season and also the efl league 2 player of the season ex Miller Richie Smallwood over whether they ever offered him a new contract, Bradford told fans they were in negotiations over a new contract, Richie claims there was never an offer of a contract at all.
Finally one of my mates think we should sign Josh Koroma, and at first glance, his departure from Huddersfield Town may seem a perplexing scenario. However, I don't see Koroma as a sensible transfer. In my opinion he only plays in patches and his game has not come on at all in 5 seasons at Huddersfield. In that time Koroma made 169 appearances, scoring 35 goals and providing 10 assists. For me he is a one “trick pony” he plays wide left but he only seems to have one trick: cut inside and shoot. I have never seem him cross a ball meaningfully. When he gets into a position where he can whip in an early cross he checks back onto his right foot, killing the momentum, he is another Malik Wilks, very frustrating. Which in a way bring us round to where we started with this update as Wilks has also been linked to Bolton.
Monday 9th June update
I had intended to write an update yesterday but time ran away with me. I will start by posting a thank you to those fans who have given me feedback and made suggestions of players to be included. Firstly as you will see from now on I will put a bold header in signifying when an update has been made. I will also cover off any players that have been suggested and I will start this time with @rufcjb on X who has mentioned Ben Woods at Accrington, who we have already covered earlier in the blog, Woods is a typical astute Accrington signing, the type they do well with. He came through the Man U academy was let go at 16 did 4 years at Burnley was let go there and showed initiative by going to Scotland to Inverness to get games Accrington picked him up from there, he is another old fashioned “8” mobile with a good engine he has played 70 games for them over the last 2 seasons with 9 goals. He signed a 2.5 year deal in Jan 25 and was the managers player of the year last season he will cost a fee but has plenty of development in him. I have seen @rufcjb has posted suggestions for sensible signings today on X (now deleted) some lifted from here and some from Tom Eyres articles I don't mind people doing this but please acknowledge your source.
Hot off the press as I write is the news that Stockport have announced that Will Collar (covered earlier in this blog) has turned down their contract offers and is leaving the club. I expect we will see where he is going in the coming days but he is one that I like and he would be a good signing for us.
This is another sign that activity is hotting up, meanwhile we have tied down academy youngsters Ben Hatton and Josh Ayres to new contracts today with mysteriously Lee Peltier in the on line photos. Hopefully our first new signing announcements are imminent.
Elsewhere, our feathered friends in S6 have still not paid the wages of any of their staff including the non football staff and at 13.39pm today John West the Chansiri families family fish canning business issued a statement distancing themselves from any involvement with Wednesday see link https://x.com/johnwest_uk/status/1932054916765290629?t=X4rjxsIdltf3PmP8Pz_twQ&s=19
Has Chancer been cast adrift by the family, it certainly does not look good.
Back to the transfer news and Sam Dalby, recommended earlier in the blog has now signed a 4 year deal with Bolton so he will not be coming to NYS.
A colleague I work with who sees a lot of football around the East Anglia area has recommend Samson Tovide to me, he is a Centre Forward at Colchester, left footed runs the left hand channel is strong powerful quick and mobile, I have looked at some clips and he looks impressive Colchester have just triggered a 12 month contract extension so he will cost a fee but I can not imagine it will be a big fee. In my research I came across these comments from Danny Cowley, “Samson’s getting there, which is a really positive.
He’s a really important player to us – he’d be an important player to all 72 clubs in the Football League. He’s an incredible phenomenon, so much pace, so much power.”
Wigan have signed Fraser Murray from Kilmarnock, not someone I have personally seen play, according to reports only 2 players created more chances than Fraser Murray in the Scottish Prem last season
He also created the most chances of any non Old Firm player
This was for a Kilmarnock side that finished 4th.
Luton have signed Millwall defender George Saville on a free.
Finally for tonight may I recommend the following post from Lewis Finnie for some more Millers related signing suggestions.