Rotherham United didn’t hit the jackpot with gamble on ex-Watford promotion-winner - It was nobody’s fault | OneFootball

Rotherham United took a gamble on former Watford defender Joel Ekstrand, but it didn't pay off for the Millers or the Swede.

In February 2017, Rotherham United took a gamble as they sought to hit the jackpot with the signing of free agent defender Joel Ekstrand, but it isn’t a deal that worked out.

Having previously played for Udinese and Watford, the one-time highly-rated centre-back moved to South Yorkshire with a view to getting his career back on track after injuries had hampered it throughout.

He had begun his professional career with Helsingborg in Sweden, before becoming a part of the Pozzo family football setup with Udinese in 2011, moving on to Watford the following year after making 12 Serie A appearances for the Friulians as they finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

With the Hornets, Ekstrand was a key man in the 2012/13 season, turning himself into arguably their most important defender in the latter stages of the campaign, and playing every minute of their play-off campaign as they succumbed to an eventual 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium after extra-time.

In the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, Ekstrand began to be affected by consistent niggling injuries that saw his involvement lessened, albeit whenever available he would remain a key man for Watford.

Those injuries eventually became relentless and serious, but as he sought to rebuild his career in the early spring of 2017, Rotherham were the side that offered him a chance.

Joel Ekstrand couldn’t recover from his injury issues at Rotherham

Ekstrand, who had been capped twice for Sweden by the end of 2014, was a no-nonsense and aggressive centre-back that picked up 22 yellow cards over the course of the 100 games he played for Watford.

Suspensions weren’t his only blight in terms of availability, though, as injuries began to pick up and then the Swede eventually missed the whole of the 2015/16 season, having played a role in their promotion to the Premier League in the previous campaign, but his season ended by the severe knee injury sustained against Ipswich Town

In the summer of 2016, after failing a medical at Leeds United, Ekstrand eventually joined Bristol City on a free transfer, but he only managed two Championship appearances for the Robins before they terminated his contract in February 2017.

A day later, under the still interim management of Paul Warne after the sackings of Alan Stubbs and Kenny Jackett, the Millers opted to offer a chance for Ekstrand to help their battle against the drop, signing him on a short-term contract for the remainder of the 16/17 season.

His stint at Rotherham was always going to be a risky one, and the gamble taken by Rotherham was one in desperation, which was understandable in the circumstances, as they sat rock-bottom of the Championship and, at that stage, potentially on course for an all-time lowest points tally in EFL history.

Ekstrand, an aggressive and front-footed defender at his best and his fittest, had been given the chance to prove his fitness and lift a sinking ship, but his body couldn’t do it and Rotherham’s gamble did not pay off.

Ekstrand managed to make just one appearance for Rotherham, and even him being available at last turned into a nightmare for the Swedish centre-back.

Having been on the bench for a couple of matches, Ekstrand started and played 68 minutes of Rotherham’s 5-0 demolition at the hands of Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium, starting alongside captain Richie Wood.

It was 4-0 at the time of his substitution, coming off to be replaced by the eventually booked Aymen Belaid, but it was to be his final appearance in English football, with another knee injury ruling him out until the end of the season.

Rotherham finished rock-bottom of the second tier and were relegated to League One, with Ekstrand unable to fight his way back from the sad injury-halting career he endured, which eventually ended after making just a solitary appearance back in Sweden for AIK.

Ekstrand had been so highly-rated that he was thought of as a key man for a promotion contender in the second-tier, having been in the squad of a top four team in Italy, and so it was perhaps worth the gamble for Rotherham.

However, albeit nobody’s fault with Rotherham giving him the chance and Ekstrand’s body failing him, it was a move that didn’t work out for anyone, and neither side had a positive to tell from it.