Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Stockport County suffer transfer blow | OneFootball

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, and Stockport County transfer target Kusini Yengi is set for a loan move to Japan.

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, and Stockport County are all set to miss out in the race to sign former Portsmouth striker Kusini Yengi.

The Millers are desperately vying to pull themselves out of the League One relegation zone, while the Latics are also dwindling in the bottom half.

Contrastingly, County sit fourth following their 1-0 win over fellow promotion candidates Huddersfield Town last Saturday.

Rotherham have bolstered their frontline by signing 17-year-old Harry Gray on loan from Leeds United, but Yengi's experience could have helped the South Yorkshire outfit in their relegation battle.

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, and Stockport County target Kusini Yengi set for Japan loan move

Rotherham, Wigan and Stockport had all eyed a loan move for Yengi, who has endured a lack of game time since joining Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen on a free transfer last summer.

The 27-year-old is keen to represent Australia in the upcoming World Cup, making him eager to depart Pittodrie this month, which attracted the attention of League One clubs.

Yengi performed well for his former club, Portsmouth, in the third tier, helping John Mousinho's men to promotion by notching nine league goals in the 2023/24 campaign.

According to Australian outlet news.com, Yengi's agent is finalising the striker's loan move to Japanese outfit Cerezo Osaka.

The former Adelaide United man could make his debut for Arthur Papas's side in their next league game against Gamba Osaka on 7 February.

Joe Taylor could be a suitable Kusini Yengi alternative for Wigan Athletic

Yengi's previous exploits for Portsmouth show that missing out on the forward's services is a blow for Rotherham, Wigan, and Stockport.

The Millers may find it difficult to recruit a suitable alternative for the 27-year-old thanks to their relegation struggles, which will leave the New York Stadium club reliant on 17-year-old Gray.

Meanwhile, County are still searching for a Nathan Lowe replacement after the striker, who was on loan from Stoke City, was recalled by his parent club amid injury struggles.

Lowe scored just three goals in 19 League One outings for the Edgeley Park club this term, but Dave Challinor should still be keen to replace the 20-year-old to help complement the goal-scoring efforts of Kyle Wooton.

Meanwhile, Football League World have exclusively revealed that Wigan are in talks to sign Joe Taylor on loan from Huddersfield Town as the Latics vie to break into the top half of League One.

Ryan Lowe's side have scored just 26 goals in 24 third-tier fixtures this term, and must acquire another striker now that they are set to miss out on Yengi.

Taylor has suffered a lack of game time at Huddersfield this season, with the Terriers instead favouring fellow striker Bojan Radulovic, who has notched seven goals and five assists in 16 League One appearances.

However, the 23-year-old previously excelled in the third tier while on loan with Lincoln City, scoring 10 goals and producing three assists in 19 outings back in 2023/24.

The former Luton man could reignite that sort of form at Wigan, who have become increasingly reliant on youngster Harrison Bettoni, with Christian Saydee and Dara Costelloe unable to score regularly.