Rotherham United manager Steve Evans rules out return for striker who could be victim of Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl evolution

Smith dropped down a division to join the Owls two seasons ago after running down his contract at the New York Stadium, along with Michael Ihiekwe.

The centre-forward was mercilessly booed in the home-and-away Championship games between the sides last season, inspiring him to score both goals in the Owls' first win of the season when the sides met at Hillsborough.

But the targetman only scored two other goals in the campaign and was a substitute more often than he started. So with manager Danny Rohl planning a less compromised version of his style of play, and signing more mobile, fluid forwards Olaf Kobacki, Charlie McNeill, Jamal Lowe to help with it, it is fair to assume opportunities might be limited in 2024-25.

Rohl has also not given up on signing Ike Ugbo, despite having an initial bid for the striker who was on loan with them in the second half of last season refused.

But Evans quickly got down to work on his rebuild, and snapping up a marquee centre-forward was the first of the 13 signings he has made to date.

So his attitude towards Smith is thanks, but no thanks, he says.

“I love ‘Smudge’,” Evans told the Rotherham Advertiser. “He was brilliant for Rotherham United, a handful against my teams when he played against them.

“But we've had the best League One signing of the whole transfer window in Jonson.

“We moved before people got off their chairs,” he said. “People went on holiday, I went to work. That's what you need to do if you're going to build a team that wins things. You don't go on holiday in May.”

Clarke-Harris had four years at Rotherham from 2014 to 2018 but won League One's golden boot twice at Peterborough.

“Would I love Smudge in the squad? Yeah,” he said. “But we've a good balance. We've got Clarke-Harris, we've got Jordan Hugill, we've got Sam Nombe, we've got Asapa Osong and Joe Hungbo can play up there – he's got great feet and is a very talented boy.

“It's nothing to do with finances. We've never picked up the phone to Michael.”

Since Smith left Championship Rotherham for the League One Owls, the two clubs have swapped divisions. Evans' track record and his summer recruitment drive have provided plenty of optimism that the Millers can challenge for promotion this season, though.

The Scot is still waiting to hear back from an unnamed winger he is hoping to sign, and is braced for the decision to come after the start of the new season, which for the Millers is August 10.