Rotherham boss Paul Warne has revealed that the Millers have received a bid from a Championship club for Blues’ target Matt Crooks.
On Monday it was reported that the South Yorkshiremen had rebuffed a Town offer understood to be £500,000 or £600,000 for the 27-year-old, the Blues' second bid after £400,000 had previously been rejected.
Now a Championship club has made an offer understood to be in excess of Town’s second offer.
"There has been a bid from a Championship side but it hasn’t reached the chairman’s valuation,” manager Paul Warne told the Rotherham Advertiser.
Previously Championship clubs Middlesbrough, Peterborough United, Derby County - who are currently subject to a transfer embargo - and Cardiff City were reported to be interested.
The Millers boss has previously said he’s not keen to see Crooks move on to a League One rival, but has admitted that there comes a point where it becomes impossible to turn an offer down. Rotherham are understood to have put a £1 million price tag on the midfielder's head.
A further Town bid - or bids - appear inevitable with Crooks, who has a year left on his contract, one of manager Paul Cook’s top targets and despite the Championship interest the Blues are in a strong position to get their man.
Leeds-born 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.
Meanwhile, reports north of the border have dismissed claims that Hearts want to sign Blues midfielder Teddy Bishop.
According to Edinburgh Live, the 24-year-old is not a target of the Scotttish Premiership side.