New Rotherham United signing Jonson Clarke-Harris reveals dual target after joining the club from League One rivals Peterborough United

The 29-year-old will join the Millers on a two-year deal upon expiration of his contract at Posh at the end of June.

The move sees the Leicester-born player renew acquaintances with Steve Evans, who he worked with in his first spell at Rotherham and at Posh.

Clarke-Harris joined Rotherham for a then club record fee of £350,000 from Oldham Athletic ahead of the 2013-14 campaign and has maintained close contact with Evans throughout his career.

The powerhouse forward joins after a productive spell at Peterborough United, although he found opportunities harder to come by last season after being transfer-listed 12 months ago.

The season ended in Posh losing in the League One semi-finals to Oxford United recently in a season which saw Clarke-Harris contribute 13 goals in all competitions, despite making just 19 starts and 43 appearances in total.

He topped the League One scoring charts twice in three years between 2021 and 2023 and scored 87 goals in 190 appearances over four years with the Fen outfit and is confident he would have taken the division’s Golden Boot award if things had been different in 2023-24.

Securing that gong represents a personal aim next term alongside clinching a promotion back to the second tier after going close with Posh.

He said: “Absolutely. When I got relegated with Peterborough, it was always to get back to the Championship.

"We nearly got there and I’ve had two really tough (team) seasons. But being at the top end of the division is definitely somewhere where I want to be.”

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And on his desire to claim another golden boot, he continued: “Without a doubt. I see myself - if I’d have played the amount of games in the season just gone that I wanted to play and probably should have played - I am pretty sure I would have won it as well when I looked at the amount of goals that were scored by Alfie May.

"(He’s a) quality striker, but I’d always back myself to go out there and beat that.

"My plan this year was never to go on holiday and I always said I would stay working. But when you are out of contract as a player, there’s always that doubt and fear that you might not get an offer or a club as there’s so many good players out there who haven’t got a club. I’m fortunate to be in this position.”

Clarke-Harris had a bittersweet spell at the AESSEAL New York Stadium earlier in his career - where he showed his prowess with ten goals, including a spectacular strike in a famous win over Leeds United, but was also restricted by a serious knee injury.

On whether he possesses a sense of unfinished business, he commented: “Absolutely. If you look at when I left, I needed minutes and game time. I came back from an ACL injury and the situation at the club was in then was a completely different situation to now.

"I did my injury at the start of pre-season and by the time the other manager came in, he had his own ideas and I wanted game time and he couldn’t give me that.

"So I had to move on and I felt like it was the best thing for me at this age and time in my career as I needed minutes and I proved what I can do.”