Thursday 14 July 2016 18:53, UK
Rotherham have conceded defeat to Barnsley in the chase for Tom Bradshaw after refusing to pay over the odds for the Walsall striker.
The Millers thought they had agreed a club-record fee for 23-year-old, believed to be around £500,000, but after he handed in a transfer request on Wednesday, the Saddlers upped their price.
Barnsley were prepared to match the valuation, but, on the insistence of boss Alan Stubbs, Rotherham were not and Bradshaw is expected to sign on at Oakwell on Friday.
Millers chairman Tony Stewart said: "We had been aware of Bradshaw for a while and then heard Barnsley were in for him a couple of weeks ago.
"We had a bid and that bid was upped. We thought we had the deal bagged and done, but then Walsall came back, said there was a late bidder and would we increase our offer?
"At that point, you think, 'Okay, what do we do now?' I asked the manager (Alan Stubbs) if he thought the player was worth more than our last bid and he said 'no'.
"That was the opinion of the manager and his team and (chief scout) Gee (Evans). Other clubs may think differently about what a player is worth and, of course, we respect that."
