Rotherham United have submitted their retained list to the EFL ahead of the upcoming 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship campaign.
The club can confirm that Wes Harding, Robbie Hemfrey, Mackenzie Warne and Richard Wood will all depart AESSEAL New York Stadium upon the expiry of their contracts on June 30th 2023.
Long-serving defender Wood will leave the club after nine years of exemplary service when his deal expires this summer.
Having signed for the Millers back in 2014, Wood has gone on to captain the side to three promotions and Papa Johns Trophy success, as well as helping the club secure second tier survival on no fewer than three occasions, the most recent of which came last season.
There were many highs during the 37-year-old’s decorated time with the football club, but his crowning moment was during the 2017/18 campaign, where he famously netted a brace under the Wembley arch as the Millers beat Shrewsbury Town 2-1 after extra time in the Sky Bet League One Play-off Final.
Wood skippered the side to one of the best campaigns in their history during the 2021/22 season, in which he turned out 45 times in all competitions and helped the team to a club record clean sheet tally, a club best unbeaten run, promotion and the Papa Johns Trophy.
He will depart the football club for pastures new having expressed his desire to continue his playing career with the sincere gratitude of everyone at Rotherham United for his colossal contribution to Rotherham United over the past nine years.
Fellow promotion winner Harding will also depart following the conclusion of his contract, having amassed over 100 appearances in Millers colours since his arrival from Birmingham City in 2020.
Meanwhile, the management team have opened discussions with defenders Tyler Blackett, Sean Morrison and Lee Peltier, as well as goalkeeper Josh Vickers and attacker Chiedozie Ogbene – whose deals are also set to expire at the end of June – about the prospect of extending their stay in South Yorkshire.
Updates on how the discussions with the aforementioned players will be provided as we learn of their outcomes on www.themillers.co.uk.
The club have decided to activate options to extend the contracts of Shane Ferguson and Ben Wiles, meaning their stays with the Millers will now run until the summer of 2024.
Loan players Conor Coventry, Tariqe Fosu, Domingos Quina, Leo Hjelde, Bailey Wright and Grant Hall will all return to their parent clubs, following the conclusion of their temporary stints at AESSEAL New York Stadium.
Players under contract who will remain at the club (21):
Tolaji Bola, Cohen Bramall, Hamish Douglas, Curtis Durose, Tom Eaves, Nathaniel Ford, Joel Holvey, Jordan Hugill, Jake Hull, Cameron Humphreys, Viktor Johansson, Georgie Kelly, Peter Kioso, Jamie Lindsay, Jamie McCart, Ciaran McGuckin, Hakeem Odoffin, Joshua Kayode, Ollie Rathbone, Conor Washington, Ben Wiles.
Players out of contract and subsequently leaving Rotherham United (4):
Wes Harding, Robbie Hemfrey, Mackenzie Warne, Richard Wood.
The club are in discussions with the following players about potential new deals (5):
Tyler Blackett, Sean Morrison, Chiedozie Ogbene, Lee Peltier, Josh Vickers.
Option activated to extend current deal by a further year (2):
Ben Wiles, Shane Ferguson.
2022/23 season loanees returning to their parent clubs (6):
Conor Coventry, Tariqe Fosu, Domingos Quina, Leo Hjelde, Bailey Wright, Grant Hall.
Everyone at Rotherham United would like to thank each and every player that has been involved for their efforts which have ultimately resulted in the club achieving our immediate objective of retaining our Sky Bet Championship status and wish them all the best for their future endeavours.