Duncan Watmore twist: Rotherham United look to take advantage of Sheffield Wednesday situation | OneFootball

Duncan Watmore has been eyed up by the two South Yorkshire sides in recent weeks

League One side Rotherham United are reportedly readying a fresh transfer swoop for former Millwall wide player, Duncan Watmore, amid a fresh twist at South Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield Wednesday.

According to a fresh update on the transfer saga involving the 31-year-old from Alan Nixon - via Patreon - the Millers are looking to take advantage of the latest set of transfer window-related rulings which have come the way of the Owls, just days after the winter window opened for business until 7PM on Monday, February 2nd.

It has been an extremely frustrating first half of the Championship and League One campaigns for differing reasons as far as the two local rivals have been concerned, although it has also been well-documented that an extremely large portion of such feelings at Hillsborough have come through continuous takeover uncertainty.

Indeed, Wednesday were placed into administration on October 24th, developments which brought Dejphon Chansiri's controversial 10-year reign as owner to a welcome end.

Since then, Henrik Pedersen's cash-strapped outfit have been under the temporary management of administrative group, Begbies Traynor, although it was widely reported that Dunfermline Athletic and Cordoba CF co-owner, James Bord, was named as their preferred bidder in a drawn-out takeover process.

As a result of several registration and transfer embargoes and restrictions in the summer window, the Dane was only able to recruit the services of Ethan Horvath and Harry Amass on short-term loans from Cardiff City and Manchester United respectively, before further experience and depth was added through the free agent acquisitions of Liam Cooper and Nathan Redmond in November.

However, Horvath has since returned to South Wales following the expiration of his loan switch, whilst it is expected that Amass will return to Old Trafford following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim on Monday afternoon.

And, despite receiving the go-ahead from the English Football League (EFL) a handful of days ago that further reinforcements can be made under strict regulations, the potential addition of Watmore does not fall into said category, meaning the seasoned campaigner could be bound for the New York Stadium as a result.

Rotherham United plot fresh Duncan Watmore transfer move amid Sheffield Wednesday transfer twist

Watmore has been the subject of varying transfer talk ever since his departure from The Den was confirmed at the conclusion of last season, having made 80 appearances for the Lions, scoring 13 times and providing a further four assists.

Both Blackpool and Hull City were interested in striking a deal for the ex-Middlesbrough wide man in August, before Wednesday's initial interest came to the fore in mid-September, although they would have to wait almost two months longer until they could confirm any free agent signings after being granted special dispensation from the governing body.

It had then emerged in November that Watmore was training with Rotherham's third tier rivals, Stockport County, in a bid to preserve his fitness levels and sharpness in the event of potentially being picked up by any side on a free transfer at any given moment.

Nixon then claimed later in that month that Watmore had been training with Wednesday at their Middlewood Road base after being granted the opportunity to sign a second free agent, which they would do, only in the form of Redmond.

The Millers were said to be waiting in the wings, hoping that the versatile figure would opt to sign for Matt Hamshaw's side despite an extremely inconsistent start to the campaign.

He would then feature for Wednesday's Under-21s in a 4-1 victory over Fleetwood Town on December 16th, and is said to have remained training with the club as they hope to bring in reinforcements in the coming weeks.

However, after it was reported by the Star that there are specific limits on what business the Hillsborough club will be able to conduct, Nixon has now claimed that Rotherham are readying a fresh swoop.

His report states that Wednesday are set to miss out on the Mancunian's services as he is not a loan player whose wages cannot be fully covered.

Rotherham United could land key transfer coup with Duncan Watmore transfer

As previously mentioned, it has been an extremely poor first full season in charge of the Reds for local boy, Matt Hamshaw, as Rotherham currently reside in 22nd, inside the relegation zone having taken just 24 points from as many games.

Despite their recent pedigree at this level, the cash has very rarely been splashed under Tony Stewart's ownership, meaning bargain transfers have had to be sourced.

Watmore could certainly fall into that category, given his prior record in the division above. His creativity, experience and versatility would be a welcome boost to a side who have also scored just 22 times.