Rotherham United forward heads out on loan and won't be back at Millers

The 27-year-old is out of contract in the summer and boss Paul Warne has confirmed he will not be offered a new one.

It signals the end of what has to be considered a disappointing time at the AESSEAL New York Stadium after joining from Blackpool in 2018.

After a good start, which saw him win international honours with Northern Ireland, injury problems curtailed his progress and then he struggled to force his way into Warne's side on a regular basis.

He leaves the club having scored six goals in 63 games.

Vassell's relationship with Warne never soured, though, with the boss vowing to stay friends.

“I've had a really good relationship with Vass,” Warne admitted.

“We're really close and I'll keep in touch with him for the rest of my life. I think we could both admit we'd just come to a natural end.

“He wants to play every minute, he always wants to be the number 9, which is fair enough. I just couldn't guarantee him that.

“He's out of contract in the summer and I know that wouldn't have been a contract that we renewed.

“It makes sense for him to go out there, put himself in the shop window and get himself a new club. I could have said,'You're staying here and you're just going to do me a favour.' But once the player's heart is set on going and trying to secure his future, who am I to stop that? Even if I did keep him, would I have the same Kyle Vassell? No, I wouldn't. “Regrettably, I had to agree with his reasoning and let him leave the building.”

Vassell follows Mickel Miller into League One, with the winger joining Northampton on loan until the end of the season.

The duo's departure frees up two places in Warne's 25-man squad, with fit-again Chiedozie Ogbene set to take one of them.

Warne wants more players to leave, but says the salary cap and coronavirus are making it difficult to ship players out.

“I do need to freshen up the squad and obviously there will be some outs this month,” Warne added.

“I don't like any of my players leaving to be truly honest but Vass has played a big part in the last three years and he goes with my blessing.”