Will Grigg has revealed that he has cut ties with Sunderland now following his loan move to Rotherham United as he heads into the final year of his deal at the Stadium of Light.
It had been a very uncertain period for Grigg in the summer with the forward clearly not in Lee Johnson’s long-term plans at Sunderland.
However, it took until the final hours of the transfer window for a resolution to be found to his short-term future.
There had been suggestions that he could make a move to Doncaster Rovers. However, eventually Rotherham made the move for him and he ended up agreeing a loan deal with them.
Grigg will now be aiming to get his career back on track at the New York Stadium. He managed to get off to an ideal start for the Millers by scoring his first goal for the club in their 6-0 thrashing of Doncaster in the Papa John’s Trophy in mid-week.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Grigg outlined that he has focused on the more successful times in his career to help him get through his difficult Sunderland spell.
He added that he has now pretty much cut ties with the Black Cats and revealed he would be open to a permanent Rotherham move.
He said: “The main thing it (Sunderland) has done is make me look back at my successful times, my happy periods.
“It gives you that extra bit of motivation and drive to get back to that place.
“I have been at my best when I have been happy and I have been happy because I am playing well.
"When you are doing well, you do not think about it at all. It will be nice to get back to that place and just really enjoy it again.
“I am out of contract at the end of the season, so I have essentially cut ties with the club. I will look out for their results. But I am a Rotherham player now.
"It is not something we have spoken about (a permanent move to Rotherham), but if the loan goes well, it is definitely something we will consider further down the line.”
The verdict
It has obviously been a very difficult period in Grigg’s career over the last few seasons with him never being able to hit the ground running at Sunderland.
The forward’s lack of impact at the Stadium of Light has been surprising considering that everywhere else he has been he has managed to be a really strong player in the final at League One level.
However, the price-tag and the weight of expectations on him at Sunderland would not have helped him and it seemed he was never fully able to win over the trust of any of the managers he played under with the Black Cats.
Rotherham is a very good place for him to have moved to because Paul Warne is the sort of manager that instills togetherness into his squad and the Millers never put too much pressure on one individual player.
Grigg could well go on to enjoy a successful campaign with Rotherham and if they could then sign him on a free transfer next summer it would be an excellent piece of business for the Millers.