Old boss's verdict on Rotherham United new boy Zak Jules

Zak Jules earlier this week became the Millers' eighth summer signing when he moved to AESSEAL New York Stadium on a two-year deal following a season with Exeter City.

Grecians boss Gary Caldwell had been desperate to hang on to the centre-half and sang his praises before negotiations at St James Park broke down and the 27-year-old chose South Yorkshire as his new home.

“I think Zak brings real physicality and composure to the defensive line,” he said.

“There were games last season where he was absolutely superb. I keep saying to him, I still think he can be better. I think he has all the attributes to play up a level.”

Jules' decision to leave shocked Exeter who will now come up against their former player in the third tier next season.

The Londoner was enticed away by the potential of a club seeking a fifth successive promotion from the division.

New boss Steve Evans led Rotherham to the Championship in 2014 in his first spell in charge and is aiming to repeat the feat in his first season back in the hot-seat. The Millers also went up under Paul Warne in 2018, 2020 and 2022.

Speaking about his switch, Jules said: “I had a conversation with the gaffer that went really, really positively.

“He talked about the ambitions of the club and what he wants to achieve. He thought that I could be a big part of it and I was quite excited to jump on board.

“He played a massive role in me coming here. He was so confident and positive when he was expressing his aims for the season that I had no doubt this was the place where I wanted to be. He made it clear that he wanted to get straight back to the Championship.”

Jules will meet his new teammates when the players report at Roundwood for pre-season later this week and is already familiar with a couple of members of the squad.

He and striker Sam Nombe were teammates at Exeter and he knows midfielder/centre-half Hakeem Odoffin from their time together in the Reading youth ranks.

“Sam's a really good player,” the new boy said. “He was a big player for us at Exeter. He left quite late on in the window last summer and that was a massive loss.”

Meanwhile, former Rotherham centre-half Clark Robertson is back on British soil after spending a year playing in Israel.

The defender, who spent three seasons with the Millers in the Championship and League One between 2018 and 2021, has returned to his native Scotland and signed for Premiership side Dundee following his departure from Ashdod

Now aged 30, he made 69 appearances for Rotherham during his injury-hit stay at AESSEAL New York Stadium before moving on to Portsmouth for two years.