Rotherham United have been linked with a potential swoop for St Johnstone defender Shaun Rooney ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to a report from The Scottish Sun, the Millers are interested in sealing a deal for Rooney.

However, Rotherham are likely to face a battle to secure the defender's signature.

It is understood that Fleetwood Town are currently leading the race for Rooney whilst Kilmarnock are also believed to be keen on reaching an agreement.

Rooney's current contract at St Johnstone is set to expire at the end of May and fresh terms have to be agreed.

Although the Saints want the 25-year-old to stay at McDiarmid Park, there is no guarantee that they will be able to convince him to sign a new deal.

Rooney helped St Johnstone retain their Scottish Premiership status for another season earlier this week by scoring in the second leg of their play-off clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

After being held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg, the Saints beat their opponents 4-0 on Monday.

Rotherham will be looking to achieve a relative amount of success in the Championship next season after securing promotion to this division last month.

 

 

The Verdict

If the Millers are indeed interested in signing Rooney on a free transfer this summer, they will need to act quickly as the defender is currently attracting a lot of interest.

Having recorded a respectable average SofaScore match rating of 6.80 in the Scottish Premiership last season, it will be intriguing to see how the right-back will fare in the second-tier if he does make the switch to Rotherham.

Although it may take Rooney some time to adapt to life in the Championship due to the fact that he has never played at this level before during his career, he could potentially end up benefitting from the guidance of Paul Warne.

In order to cover the possibility of missing out on sealing a deal for Rooney, Rotherham may find it beneficial to draft up a list of alternative targets who they believe will be able to deliver the goods for the club on a consistent basis later this year.