Middlesbrough are reportedly closing in on signing Blues target Matt Crooks from Rotherham.

Crooks was the subject of two rebuffed Town bids - £400,000 and then either £500,000 or £600,000 - but with Championship clubs also interested in the 27-year-old with two having made offers, the highest said to be £750,000 rising to £1.25 million.

Now, according to Football League World, Crooks is set to undergo a medical on Teesside today, a fee having presumably been agreed with the Millers.

Last Thursday, Rotherham manager Paul Warne revealed Town had made no new offer for Crooks, although we understand the Blues remained interested despite having signed Scott Fraser from the MK Dons on Wednesday.

“I spoke to the Ipswich manager last week,” Warne told the Rotherham Advertiser. “He candidly asked ‘What did I think?’, I candidly told him what I thought and they haven’t offered again.

“It is not something we’re looking to do, to lose our best assets to our competitors.

“I think, in fairness to the player and with no disrespect to Ipswich, if he was to leave here he would want Championship football. That’s what his ability deserves really.”

Photo: Action Images

BlueNomad added 11:26 - Jul 19 Oh well.
0

howdonblue added 11:29 - Jul 19 Wow there's a surprise NOT
1

cranky_old_tractor added 11:33 - Jul 19 Shame. Would have been good. Sure we have other candidates and will be interesting to see who will fill these boots!
2

ShropshireBluenago09 added 11:34 - Jul 19 It's good to aim high, but I fear this one was always going to be out of reach once championship teams showed interest.
13

WhoisJimmyJuan added 11:35 - Jul 19 Agreed Shropshire Blue.
5

buzbyblue added 11:36 - Jul 19 Its no good just throwing money at players, they will always be a limit and/or a richer club coming in TBH I think we have done really well so far this transfer window, punching above our weight and bring in some really quality players no team ever gets every target they go for? COYB!
19

EricsGate added 11:36 - Jul 19 A shame but move on Never saw this happening anyway due to us being a rival and Paul Warne being a big budgie fan.
11

Kulturarv added 11:37 - Jul 19 And as a Town-fan I "candidly" tell Warne that we don't care. We will still take six points from Rotherham this season.
13

Mariner1974 added 11:43 - Jul 19 I went to school with Paul Warne. He's not so much of a big Budgies fan now. His heart has been in Rotherham land, and has been for a long while. He wouldn't have a problem selling to us because we're Ipswich & I'm sure he's not calling the shots on that front. All Paul would want if a player leaves is to hope he gets enough cash in the coffers, that he can use to bring in some of his replacement targets.

8

Pencilpete added 11:48 - Jul 19 Although i'd like to have them both if i had to pick one from Crooks and Scott Fraser i'd pick Fraser all day long - i'm sure we have other irons in the fire anyway so i won't lose too much sleep over this I'd like to add that Paul Warne was happy to name us in every interview he's done for the last month but not any other club so to me that stinks of using us to push the fee up. Mind you Rotherham, Wycombe and Coventry all lost my respect the moment they voted themselves a mickey mouse promotion and i'm really glad to see 2 of them come straight back down ..... my message to Paul Warne would be "earn it on the field this time"

4

johnwarksshorts added 11:55 - Jul 19 I expect it suited him as its closer to home.
0

blues1 added 12:02 - Jul 19 Shropshire blue. Know what ur saying, but most of our signings so far have been wanted by championship clubs but have still signed for us. But yes, this one was gonna be hard bcse of Warnes stance about selling to a rival. Which is understandable.
6

BlueBlood90 added 12:04 - Jul 19 A real shame as he would've been our best signing in years. You win some and lose some but it's just nice that we're making a real effort to bring in players of this calibre anyway. I'm sure Cook and Ashton have a Plan B in mind.
2

Europablue added 12:17 - Jul 19 It was definitely time to cut our losses on this one. The price kept on creeping up and it wasn't clear that he was interested in coming. We can start really attracting upper-tier Championship players when we get back into the Championship.
1

itfcsouthwest added 12:20 - Jul 19 I feel like as good as he is, we are now strong enough to move on from this position. We are very much in need of a Centre Back, a left sided player and potentially a right back. I'm starting to gain confidence that things are being done the correct way!
2

ChestnutSe added 12:24 - Jul 19 We still have Flynn (who is meant to be Championship quality at least) for that position
-1

runningout added 12:28 - Jul 19 Still could do with a Crooks type player. They're are quite a few decent ones about
0

JewellintheTown added 12:54 - Jul 19 I'm sure the staff know why they didn't up the figure to 1 Million. Not always about the money. They've mostly done us proud so far (except for not finding a place for Butch).
4

DiscoStu added 12:55 - Jul 19 We can hardly complain on the signings so far. Can't win them all. I am sure the management team took it as far they could. I suspect getting Frazer over the line calmed some nerves too. Spend the money saved on top quality on front of our new goalkeeper. I am sure I am not the only one checking back here every 2 hours in the hope seeing news on that front.
5

DavefromWatford added 13:20 - Jul 19 Mariner1974 Your comment about Warne not being a Budgie fan anymore made me giggle. Once a true fan always a fan isn`t that the saying. I became a Town fan in 1960/61 aged 8 and although my family moved to Watford when i was 13 ( i still live here) i will be a Town fan till i die. Not a Budgie fan don`t make me laugh. Lol
1

DavefromWatford added 13:24 - Jul 19 Are there any other old farts like me who remembers the likes of Ken Hancock, Ted Phillips, Jimmy Leadbetter(Sticks)or Ray Crawford. Those definitely were the days.
6

kuyski added 13:32 - Jul 19 Disappointments-yes！But at least he will not stay at Rotherham anymore,they lost we gain,I will be happy with this.
0

Taricco_Fan added 13:54 - Jul 19 I can't say I'm disappointed because I never saw Crooks as a realistic target in the first place. We're better off continuing to pick up proven talent from the clubs around us.
-1

blues1 added 13:54 - Jul 19 Jewellinthecrown.Sorry but all this fuss about Butcher is just rubbish. Yes hes a legend as a former player. And I'm sure bcse of who he is he had some effect on the younger players last season. But lets not suddenly think hes a great coach. His coaching and managerial career has pretty much been a failure. If theres anyone who can honestly say that hed be better staying in that job rather than Bryan Klug, arguably one of the best coaches at the club, then I'd be very surprised. It may for all we know, have been butchers wish to go. Could they find him an ambassadorial role or some other role around the club? Maybe. And maybe they will. Maybe theyve already offered him something. Who knows. But at this time in our immediate future, from the football side, there simply is no place for pure sentiment. Hope that doesnt sound too harsh on my part. Butch was a great player. But this is about the future. Not the past.

2

Cheshire_Blue added 13:55 - Jul 19 You are not alone DavefromWatford. I stood on the terraces on my upturned milk crate as a 10year old watching the Town win promotion from the old Div, 3 (South).
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