Released Town duo Ward and Adeyemi on radar of former club Rotherham

Tom Adeyemi, pictured during his loan spell at Rotherham in 2015/16. Picture: PA (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Both players are out of contract with the Blues at the end of June, with manager Paul Lambert opting not to retain them for next season after they endured injury-disrupted seasons.

Adeyemi was restricted to just five appearances in two years due to a string of injury problems, most recently undergoing Achilles surgery, while Ward is continuing to undergo rehabilitation at Ipswich following a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered at QPR on Boxing Day.

Rotherham manager Paul Warne made an offer to keep Adeyemi at Rotherham in 2017 following a productive loan spell, before the midfielder opted to join Ipswich instead, while Ward was on loan with the Millers in 2015/16 while Warne was fitness coach at the club.

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Grant Ward, pictured during his loan spell at Rotherham in 2015/16. Picture: PA (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

"They are definitely players who have come up on our radar," Millers assistant Richie Barker told the Rotherham Advertiser.

"They have had their injuries worries at Ipswich over the last two years. But they are free transfers and they are both players who have been at this club before.

"Warney knows them as people and everyone knows how important a player's character is when it comes to us making signings.

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"They are on a list of players for us to talk about. Conversations with them haven't taken place but we wouldn't be doing our jobs properly if we didn't know that both were available."

Speaking recently, Town's general manager of football operations, Lee O'Neill, insisted the club will stick by Ward throughout his rehabilitation.

"Grant is receiving full medical treatment after an injury which was very unfortunate," he said.

"We have a duty of care with him and his injury and how we put physiotherapy and rehabilitation in place for him.

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"We as a football club have a reputation with trying to help players who find themselves in this kind of situation."

As well as Ward and Adeyemi, Jonas Knudsen, James Collins, Dean Gerken, Jordan Spence and Simon Dawkins were also released.

Middlesbrough are understood to be weighing up a move for Knudsen, as well as clubs in Germany and his Danish homeland, while goalkeeper Dean Gerken has been linked with a return to former club Colchester.