Having taken Leo Hjelde on loan last season, the Millers could head back to Elland Road to bolster their squad.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Rotherham United are struggling at the bottom of the Championship, dampening Christmas spirits.
- Leam Richardson faces a tough task as manager of the Millers.
- Rotherham could strengthen their squad in the January transfer window by considering deals with Leeds United for promising young players, after benefitting from Leo Hjelde’s loan stay last term.
There will be no real Christmas cheer in Rotherham United households this year as the Millers head into December 25th at the bottom of the Championship pack.
After saving themselves from relegation last season under Matt Taylor’s management, it looks as though Leam Richardson has a tougher task on his hands, and their 3-0 defeat at the hands of table-topping Leicester City will have done nothing for anyone’s spirits at the club.
Richardson not too long ago replaced Taylor in the dugout at the New York Stadium, and whilst he performed miracles to save financially-crippled Wigan Athletic from the drop in League One a few years ago, this task could be even tougher.
He will likely need some strengthening of his squad to be done in the upcoming January transfer window, and one particular route they could go down is by doing deals with a club that they got something out of last season in the form of Leeds United.
Rotherham profited from Leeds United agreement with Leo Hjelde deal
Rotherham made a number of signings last January to boost their squad ahead of a real push for Championship survival, and one of the players that came in was young Norwegian defender Leo Hjelde.
Hjelde had only played twice in cup competitions for Leeds’ first-team that season, so the decision to send the 19-year-old out for more first-team football was a sensible one from the Whites.
At Rotherham under Matt Taylor, Hjelde regularly featured as a left-back despite being able to comfortably play as a centre-back too, although towards the end of his loan spell he spent more time on the bench than he did on the pitch.
The youngster was solid enough at times for the South Yorkshire side and it was a real learning curve for his development, but he has headed back to Leeds this season and barely played once more.
Hjelde’s time at the Millers though will give the club some food for thought ahead of January – Leeds have a number of young talents not getting game-time, and they could be the ones to take advantage to try and strike a few bargain deals.
Lewis Bate, Darko Gyabi and Ian Poveda could all be potential Rotherham signings
It could be another case of Rotherham giving a chance to some Leeds youngsters in need, with the likes of Darko Gyabi potentially ready to go out on loan for game-time.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who is tied down at Elland Road until 2026, has been featuring regularly for the under-21s and is an England under-20 international, but there are too many bodies ahead of him in the pecking order.
Another midfielder who looks likely to depart permanently instead of on loan is Lewis Bate, whose contract comes to an end in the summer.
Bate was on loan at Oxford United last season and impressed, but is another who isn’t going to get any game-time under Daniel Farke and for a six-figure fee could be a good project for Rotherham to jump on.
Then there is someone like winger Ian Poveda, who is not going to get starts over the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto despite earning a few cameos.
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