Blackpool League One rivals 'hold talks' with former Sunderland and Man United defender

Rotherham United are eyeing a move for former Blackpool defender Reece James, according to a report.

Our friends at The Star are reporting that James will hold talks with Rotherham United after his release from Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls announced that James along with George Byers would be leaving and now the Millers will speak to James amid interested in Byers too.

James is of interest to other teams in League One as well as in League Two, and he has already played at Rotherham albeit a short loan spell. Steve Evans was in charge of the Yorkshire outfit at the time, and now they will have some persuading to do to convince him that the New York Stadium is the best place for his next career choice.

The 30-year-old was limited to 11 appearances this season with eight coming in the Championship. James was not involved in the final four games of Wednesday's season as they confirmed their Championship status for another year. His last game came in an FA Cup tie in early February, and he started just five games last season.

He was at Blackpool in the 2021/22 season and was played as both a left-back and a defensive midfielder by Neil Critchley. James made a total of 19 appearances for Blackpool, and he was allowed to leave Bloomfield Road last summer, joining for an undisclosed fee.

Rotherham have been proactive in the transfer market having signed Jonson Clarke-Harris and Joe Rafferty in the last week. Clarke-Harris has proven to be prolific in the third tier whilst Rafferty was part of the Pompey side that won the league title this season.

As mentioned, Rotherham want Byers, but so do Blackpool as well as a handful of teams in the division. Birmingham City are keen as well as Bolton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town and Barnsley.