Three Goalkeepers Rotherham United Could Target – Opinion

Following their relegation from the Championship after a dismal season which saw the club pick up just five wins and 27 points, Rotherham United will be looking to immediately bounce back.

With new manager Steve Evans at the helm there’s a good chance of them doing just that. Evans had previously led the club between 2012 and 2015 and boasts a very good record, securing two promotions during his time with the Yorkshire-based side.

It’ll be by no means plain sailing in the third tier though which looks on paper to be a very strong renewal next term. The Millers have however consistently proved their quality to finish near the top of the table when they’ve been in League One in recent years. Since Evans took them to the Championship after winning the 2013-14 play-offs, the club have been back in the third tier three times, immediately gaining promotion on each occasion.

There’s probably not a whole lot of hope given how they fared in the Championship this season but a significant managerial change could spark improvement.

They do also have quite a significant issue to address this summer, that being finding a new first-choice goalkeeper. It was announced on Saturday that Rotherham’s Player of the Season Viktor Johansson had signed a three-year deal with Stoke City and the next man up will have significant shoes to fill.

Johansson was one of only a couple of players who could hold their heads high based off of their performances for the club during the season and was their standout performer. Evans will no doubt already be assessing his options as the Swedish international will be a big miss next term.

They’ll be in for at least one goalkeeper this summer to challenge for the number one spot and the manager may want some healthy competition in pre-season.

With that in mind, here’s three potential options that the club could choose to look at to fill Johansson’s place.


Arthur Okonkwo – Arsenal (Set to be a free agent this summer)

After a standout season in League Two with Wrexham, they’ll be a number of clubs monitoring Okonkwo’s situation. At just 22 years-of-age he has bundles of potential and would concede just 30 times in 36 league matches with the League One newcomers.

During that time he’d keep a rather incredible 14 clean sheets and would earn himself a spot in the League Two Team of the Season as a result. The goalkeeper was however only on loan with the Red Dragons from Premier League giants Arsenal and surprisingly, even after impressing this season, the Gunners will be allowing him to enter the free agent market.

Wrexham will obviously be in for the goalkeeper, as will a few Championship sides but a rather ambitious side like Rotherham could tempt the former England youth international into a move, knowing that he’ll be the number one.


Joe Wildsmith – Derby County (Set to be a free agent this summer)

It came as a rather large surprise when Joe Wildsmith was one of the names on Derby County’s released list. The goalkeeper would be their number one for the majority of the season, keeping 20 clean sheets and helping the Rams to promotion to the Championship.

Potentially Paul Warne doesn’t think that Wildsmith is the right man to be between the sticks in the Championship but there’s no denying his talent as a League One goalkeeper. It would be a safer option than the other two in the list given his previous exploits in the league but is also one with maybe slightly less potential.

Nonetheless, Wildsmith is a very good goalkeeper at the level and could be a good fit for the Millers.


Corey Addai – Crawley Town

A move for Addai would very much depend on whether Crawley gain promotion to the third tier or not when they face off with Crewe Alexandra on Saturday afternoon. Alongside Okonkwo he has been one of the standout ‘keepers in League Two this season and has proved his worth helping Scott Lindsey’s over-achieving side to the play-off final.

Somewhat of a significant fee would be required to tempt Crawley into selling as well as Addai being unproven above the fourth tier but he’s a player who is very much on the up currently and the Millers would be getting a goalkeeper who could be their number one for a number of years.

Excellent with his feet as well, Addai possesses all the characteristics of a modern-day goalkeeper and should have a place on their shortlist.

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