Former Everton and Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell has joined Sheffield United until the end of the season, the club has announced on Friday.
The 28-year-old midfielder became a free agent after leaving Blackburn in the summer where he made 23 appearances and scored one goal for the Championship club. Now he has joined Chris Wilder’s sid after he has been training with the club since December last year.
FutballNews recalled that Rodwell was close to joining Roma in October, but a deal never happened despite him passing medical, physical testing and training with Roma players at their Trogoria base. The midfielder was at the Stadio Olimpico to attend the Serie A side’s 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Europa League.
The former Sunderland player who has three senior England caps can play as an attacking or defensive midfielder, and as a centre back. It is understood that Rodwell will provide cover for defender Chris Basham.
Confirming the deal on Friday, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder said that Rodwell signing was until the end of the season, with the option to extend it further.
Wilder said: “It’ll be a short team deal until the end of the season with the option of extending that.
“Hopefully we can kickstart his career. He’s certainly got the desire from a physical point of view. No issues from an attitude point of view.”
“There is a lot of nonsense that has been talked about Jack. Maybe the spotlight shouldn’t be shone on Jack, maybe it should be shone on a CEO at the time
“I’ve sat down with Jack for quite a long time and spoke about his career going forward, it aligns with the club’s goals. Jack has been with us for a couple of weeks or so now and he’s been excellent around the place.
“He offers us versatility and experience in a number of key positions and adds further depth to the group which is important at this stage of the season.”
