Rotherham United have broken their club transfer record to make Jordan Bowery their fifth signing since clinching promotion to the Championship.
Having come from behind to eventually beat Leyton Orient in the League One playoff final last month, the Millers will be plying their trade in the second tier of English football for the first time in nine years next season. And since clinching promotion on that dramatic afternoon at Wembley, manager Steve Evans has barely had a rest.
The former Crawley Town boss has already added goalkeeper Scott Loach, defender Kirk Broadfoot, midfielder Conor Newton and striker Matt Derbyshire to his squad, and now he has signed another frontman in Bowery. After struggling for regular first team action at Aston Villa, the 22-year-old joins Rotherham for a club record fee.
“We are delighted to sign him, we have been very patient on this deal and thankfully we were able to persuade Jordan that his future lies in Rotherham,” Evans said. “I am thankful to Paul Lambert at Aston Villa for the kind words he said about Rotherham United and we are just delighted to have got the deal over the line.
“Of course I have seen him on a number of other occasions. He excited everyone when he was at Chesterfield when he broke through as a young kid and then he got the wonderful opportunity to play at Aston Villa. He has been at two good clubs and he has the opportunity to join a club that is desperately keen to do well in the Championship.”
Bowery started his career at Chesterfield, where his performances earned him a move to Villa for a fee of £500,000 in 2012. Denied of the regular first team football he craved, the Nottingham-born forward had a brief spell on loan at Doncaster Rovers last season, and will now be hoping to become a permanent fixture for the Millers.
