Rotherham United: Millers seal loan deal for Scott Allan, and six things you might not know about the Celtic midfielder

The Celtic playmaker becomes the third signing of a busy week for the Millers and takes the number of players now recruited by new boss Alan Stubbs to seven.

He is contention for a debut in Rotherham’s Championship opening-day clash at home to Wolves on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who made his breakthrough at Dundee United, played in England early in his career when he joined West Brom, but that move didn’t work out and he had loan spells at Portsmouth, twice, MK Dons and Birmingham City.

He found his best form when Stubbs took him to Hibernian two seasons ago and last year signed for Celtic.

“He is a very talented player,” Stubbs said today. “He is different, he will take the ball in very difficult situations. He has got really good feet. He has got really good vision and he tries things other players wouldn’t do.”

The Scott Allan lowdown:

Allan suffers from type 1 diabetes and Stubbs says the player didn’t look after himself properly during his first spell in England. The midfield man has corrected that and is now a respected ambassador for diabetes charities. The condition doesn’t affect his game or fitness as long as he follows the proper medical regime.

He is a Scottish under-17 and U-21 international but really came to the fore when he played 45 times for Stubbs at Hibernian in the 2014/15 season.

Allan was outstanding in Hibs’ 4-0 win over Rangers in December 2014 and won the Scottish Championship PFA Player of the Year award at the end of that campaign.

He is a boyhood Rangers fan and when he was a youngster Paul Gascoigne was his hero.

Celtic and Rangers were involved in a tug o’ war for Allan in the summer of 2015, when Rotherham made an offer of around £400,000. He wanted to go to Rangers but Hibs weren’t prepared to sell him to a major Scottish Championship rival.

While Stubbs was in charge at Easter Road, he said of his main man: “He’s as good as anyone in the league.” However, Allan was given little game-time at Celtic and couldn’t wait to come to AESSEAL New York Stadium and be reunited with his old boss.

Click here for news of how much the Millers offered for Grant Ward