Sheffield United have signed former Everton and Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

The 28-year-old, who has been a free agent since leaving Blackburn in the summer, has been training with Sheffield United since December.

He was criticised for the way he came across in the Netflix series Sunderland 'Til I Die, set during 2017-18.

"There is a lot of nonsense that has been talked about Jack," said Wilder.

"There might be a club in the north-east who might chuckle over stuff about Jack Rodwell, but there's two parts to that story.

"I'm not a lover of fly-on-the wall documentaries, they're always looking for a villain.

"From my point of view, that's history. All the boxes that I needed to tick, and Jack needed to tick, he has done.

"I've sat down with him for quite a long time and spoke about his career going forward; it aligns with the club's goals.

"He plays a number of positions and hopefully we can get him going."