Town are reported to have made a £400,000 offer to Rotherham United for midfielder Matt Crooks, a bid which falls well short of the Millers' valuation.
The Blues have been in discussions with the South Yorkshiremen, who were relegated to League One in 2020/21, regarding Crooks since early in the month but, according to the Rotherham Advertiser, their initial bid of £400,000 is said to be well below the South Yorkshire club’s price-tag.
TWTD understands talks remain ongoing and Town appear to be in a strong position to get their man.
Championship sides Middlesbrough and Peterborough are also understood to be interested but have not yet made a move and Derby have been linked but are currently subject to a transfer embargo, while League One Sunderland have also been mentioned as among the suitors.
Rotherham manager Paul Warne says his club is is not in a position where they need to sell and are less than keen on allowing a player to move to a rival League One side.
"We don’t want to lose our best assets, even more so not to a League One rival. That would make it ridiculous,” he told the Advertiser.
"However, as with everything, there is a figure where it becomes impossible not to let it happen. As far as I am aware, no one is anywhere near that figure yet.”
Leeds-born Crooks, who has a year left on his Rotherham contract, begins pre-season training with his Millers team-mates today.
Crooks, who can operate either in defensive or attacking midfield roles, was a schoolboy with Manchester United’s academy before moving on to Huddersfield with whom he made one senior appearance.
While with the Terriers he spent time on loan at FC Halifax, Radcliffe Borough and Accrington before joining Stanley on a permanent basis in 2016.
In July 2016 he joined Rangers in Scotland but six months later he departed for a loan spell at Scunthorpe having been unable to make an impression at Ibrox.
A switch to Northampton followed in the summer of 2017 before he moved on to Rotherham in January 2019 and was a member of the side which won promotion to the Championship the next season, scoring both goals - out of a campaign total of 11 - in the Millers’ 2-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road.
In 2020/21, Crooks netted seven times as the South Yorkshiremen dropped back into League One.
In March it was reported that Rotherham had held preliminary talks with Crooks regarding a new deal in the wake of the interest from Nottingham Forest.