Paul Warne made his tenth signing of the summer on Tuesday afternoon as Northern Ireland international Adam Thompson put pen to paper, agreeing a two-year deal at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
The 26-year-old was an instrumental figure for Bury last season as he helped them achieve automatic promotion into Sky Bet League One, and having been drafted in to reinforce the Millers’ back line, he can’t wait to get going.
With his sights set firmly on impressing both the coaching staff and the supporters, Thompson is hoping to play his part in a successful 2019/20 season, and he believes that Rotherham United is the perfect place to be.
He said: "I'm really happy, it had been an iron in the fire for quite a while, so I'm just delighted to get it all done and the work starts now for me. It's been a longer summer than usual for me, so I just want to get in now and help the lads however I can.
"I've played most of my football in League One so I know what it's all about, but I also spent two seasons in League Two and got promoted both times. The third tier is where I think I can develop at the moment and then everyone at the club has ambitions of getting into the Championship - hopefully we can achieve that at some point.
"Anything I can add to the team will be a bonus, and coming from a promotion-winning team can only be a positive. A lot of the lads have won promotion with Rotherham and then played in the Championship last year, so that stands us in good stead for this season.”
Despite being forced into a more extensive summer break than most, the Watford youth product hasn’t wasted any time in terms of ensuring he is prepared for the rigors of League One and he has been putting the work in to get himself into peak physical condition.
It will be a tough task to push himself in front of Michael Ihiekwe and Richard Wood when it comes to the pecking order in the centre of defence, but Thompson is embracing that challenge and he’s primed to go.
He said: "In terms of fitness I feel good and I work hard in pre-season anyway, but with it being extended for me this year, I've put an extra few ounces in and I've been training with another club so I still have that football fitness too.
"My tests came back and they were decent as well, so I'm confident that I can come in to try and stake a place for a place in the team straight away."