135-game ex-Leeds United defender on trial to play under former Elland Road teammate
Two former Leeds United teammates have reunited in unusual fashion.
Former Leeds United defender Tom Lees could be playing under a past Elland Road teammate next season if a trial ends with a permanent contract.
Lees is currently training with Rotherham having spent the 2025/26 campaign in League One with Peterborough United before leaving upon the expiration of his contract. Now 35, the centre-back has racked up almost 700 senior appearances since making his debut on loan from Leeds at Accrington Stanley in 2009.
Rotherham, who had Harry Gray on loan for the second-half of last season, will be in League Two next term and last month confirmed the appointment of Alex Bruce as head coach. Bruce spent two years at Leeds during which he played alongside Lees in defence a handful of times.
And now the pair could be reunited, albeit with Lees still playing while Bruce is in charge. The Millers boss confirmed following a pre-season draw against Matlock Town his former teammate could potentially be playing under him at the ASSEAL New York Stadium.
"He's one that we're looking at," Bruce told the Rotherham Advertiser. "Obviously, he's an experienced player. I've known Tom for a long time. He's been in a couple of times to do a couple of sessions. We've got to monitor him.
"His pedigree speaks for itself. We need to make sure it's right for Tom and make sure he's right for us. We're going to see how that pans out over the next few days."
Unusual Leeds United reunion on the cards
Forty-one-year-old Bruce is six years older than Lees with the pair combing at Leeds during different phases of their playing careers. Their time together at Elland Road was inextricably linked and included seven appearances alongside each other during the 2011/12 Championship campaign.
Bruce was actually due to spend that season on loan at Huddersfield Town, whom he joined in November 2011, but Leeds triggered a 24-hour recall option one month into that deal after Lees picked up a knock. The pair would go on to play alongside one another seven times under Neil Warnock.
Lees made 135 appearances for Leeds before joining Sheffield Wednesday permanently in 2014, spending seven years at Hillsborough and playing 274 games. He also spent four years at Huddersfield Town and often came up against the Whites in the Championship for either Yorkshire rival.
Bruce retired from playing in 2022 before moving into coaching, initially managing non-league Macclesfield Town before taking up a role at Salford City. Rotherham is his first full managerial role in the EFL.