Rotherham manager Paul Warne has confirmed that the Millers have put a bid in for striker Kieffer Moore, who played his last game for the League One side yesterday with Town having cut short his season-long loan.
Moore wasn’t able to add to his 13 goals after coming on as a sub in the 2-1 win at Walsall, his fourth appearance from the bench for the South Yorkshiremen in addition to his 21 starts, having returned from a three-match ban for a red card at Bristol Rovers.
"He’s definitely going back, so that was his last game for us,” Warne told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"We’ve put a bid in as will other clubs, I presume, as will Ipswich have a look at him.
"I spoke to Mick [McCarthy] and he said to me there’s a chance he might even play in the game [at Fulham] on Tuesday night for Ipswich.
"So if that is the case I wish him all the best, if he goes back and plays in the Championship every week.
"He’s done brilliantly for us. I just made the big mistake of hugging him in the changing rooms because it feels like I’m losing my son, but he was covered in sweat so that wasn’t so great, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.
"He’s going back and then if they want to sell him, the usual thing happens, he goes to the highest bidder and hopefully we’ll be in and about it.
"But if he stays at Ipswich and plays there for the rest of the season, good luck to him, because he’s been great for us, he’s been a good lad.
"The lads were telling him to do a speech, so it was quite funny in there. Hopefully he’ll be back but as everyone knows in football, you never know.”
If Town do opt to sell 6ft 5in tall Moore, who they bought from Forest Green Rovers for £20,000 in January of this year, Warne believes the striker’s successful spell at the New York Stadium will give his club an advantage over the other suitors, with Charlton, Scunthorpe and Bradford also among those interested.
"I think it does,” he added. "I think the fact that he’s a bit of a cult hero here does.
"I had him in my office this week and had a chat with him about it. It’s nice to play where you’re loved.
"You can play for loads of clubs in your career but there are only probably one or two you play for where you feel like there’s a real affinity with the fans and I think definitely he’s got that here.
"And I think he feels at home here, he knows everything here and I think we’ve got a really good chance.
"But if Mick decides he wants to keep him as an Ipswich player or someone from Russia comes and buys him, that’s a different ball game.
"I’m hopeful that he’ll come back, obviously, and I’ll keep in contact with him on a daily basis to get updates but as it is at the moment it’s out of my hands.”
Torquay-born Moore, who is contracted to the Blues until the end of the season with the club having an option to keep him for a further year, made 11 sub appearances for Town last season without scoring.
Blues right-back Josh Emmanuel is also on a season-long loan with the Millers and played the full 90 minutes yesterday.