Is Ollie Rathbone keen on a new Rotherham United contract? How far did the Millers go to land Jordan Hugill? When could Bailey Wright be available again?

OLLIE Rathbone has dropped a huge hint that he’s ready to commit his future to Rotherham United now that the club have revealed they are preparing to offer one of their star men a new contract.

After being a stand-out performer in last season’s League One promotion push, the all-action midfielder is in the form of his life in the Championship this term and has been given the captain’s armband.

The 26-year-old’s present deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024 but the Millers plan to act now to protect one of their prized assets as well as rewarding him for his contribution during his time at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

“Yeah, I’m definitely open to talking to them,” he said. “I’ve had 18 months here and they’ve probably been the best 18 months of my career.

“Ever since I came to the club the fans seem to have really taken to me and that has always meant a lot to me.”

When asked if he saw himself remaining with Rotherham in the long term, he replied: “Yeah, if they’ll have me.”

Manager Matt Taylor, who takes his team to Blackpool on Saturday before a trip next Tuesday to Reading, revealed that a preliminary approach has already been made and he is optimistic about reaching an agreement when the negotiation process is stepped up later this month.

“The situation is moving,” he said. “The recruitment guys who do some of the contract bits and pieces are having a well-earned rest this week and spending a bit of time with their loved ones after the January transfer window.

“Next week, we have a meeting planned in relation to what next season looks like: contracted players, out-of-contract players, loans, how we want the squad to be re-balanced et cetera.

“Ollie is a big part of that. He has the captaincy right now. We’re positive about what we can achieve in the near future with him.”

Deadline-day signing Domingos Quina could wear a Millers shirt for the first time at some stage in the Blackpool clash.

Watford’s attacking midfielder cut short his spell with LaLiga side Elche to join Rotherham on loan until the end of the season. He was left out of last Saturday’s derby with Sheffield United because he had only just recovered from a hamstring injury but has trained fully this week at Roundwood.

“He’s looked bright,” Taylor said. “He’s acclimatising to us. He is in contention.”

Wing-back/right-back Peter Kioso also missed out on a squad place against the Blades and the boss confirmed that leaving him off the bench was a tactical decision, not an injury-related one.

“He’s fully fit,” Taylor said. “We had three or four players who trained on Saturday morning and he was one of those.

“I think that’s a sign of our improved strength on the bench. Wes (Harding) can cover the right side and also gives us flexibility on the left and can play centrally too.

“With ‘PK’, it was just a case that we couldn’t stock the bench with right-sided defenders.”

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ROTHERHAM United are believed to have put together the most lucrative package in their history to lure wanted man Jordan Hugill to AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The striker had offers from rival Championship sides as he pondered on his next destination after cutting his ties with Norwich City.

But chairman Tony Stewart, who invested heavily throughout the January transfer window to support the push for Championship stability, was prepared to dig deep to put the Millers at the head of the queue.

The player had come to an exit settlement with the Canaries, which meant that Rotherham could concentrate their resources on a substantial salary and a three-and-a-half-year deal.

“We went above and beyond in terms of Jordan’s capture,” said manager Matt Taylor.

“We are grateful to Norwich for not needing to pay a fee. We had planned to pay a fee towards a centre-forward but that meant we could put more towards his wages, hence why we have been able to obtain his services under a contract for a longer period of time.

“We feel Jordan is someone we can build a team around. He’s here for the long term. He has great experience, a great pedigree. I know he is from the north east but we hope Rotherham can be his second home.”

Thirty-year-old Hugill, who has spent most of his career with top-end Championship sides, made his mark on his debut last week as his running, work rate and physicality caused Sheffield United’s backline no end of problems.

“There’s still a lot more to come from him,” Taylor said. “He was ‘gassed’ pretty early on because he’d not played for Norwich much this season.

“He needs game-time, he needs rhythm, he needs us to be sensible with his minutes on the pitch.

“The reason we signed him is that not only is he a good player he is a real Rotherham-type player.”

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CONCUSSION victim Bailey Wright could be a surprise inclusion in Rotherham United’s squad for Saturday’s visit to Blackpool.

The centre-half went down after a facial clash only seconds into his debut during the AESSEAL New York Stadium derby with Sheffield United last weekend.

However, he has passed the initial tests in the medical protocols he now has to go through and is on course, if all continues to go well, to be declared fit by the end of the week.

The Millers will err on the side of caution with their Sunderland loanee who joined them on the final day of the January transfer window for the rest of the Championship campaign.

“He won’t have chance to train with the group before Saturday but there is a chance he’ll be available for the game,” said manager Matt Taylor.

“Whether we put him out there with him having not trained and with there being a risk of another collision — he’s that type of player — is another discussion.

“We’ll make a sensible decision. We don’t want to put him at risk in any way. We want him to be right when he does feature.”

Wright came on as a 69th-minute substitute and came off worse when he and a Blades opponent went up for an aerial duel following a long throw-in.

“Watching it back, it was a strange collision,” Taylor said. “We can’t tell if it was the lad’s shoulder or elbow that caught Bailey. It was on his jaw, not on his temple.

“It knocked him out briefly. He’s a tough boy and he seems to have recovered pretty well. It’s good news. He could have failed his first test and could have been looking at missing Saturday and next week’s midweek fixture as well.”

The boss and his number two, Wayne Carlisle, travelled across the M62 on Tuesday night to check out Blackpool in their 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town.