FORMER York City defender Ben Purkiss could return to Bootham Crescent this summer but Richard Brodie is not on his way back after joining Blue Square Bet Premier rivals Fleetwood Town.

City boss Gary Mills has expressed an interest in Purkiss, who has been transfer-listed by Oxford United just 12 months after leaving the Minstermen.

Mills would also have contemplated reuniting Brodie with the Minstermen but admitted there would have been several factors to contemplate when weighing up such a deal.

The 23-year-old striker, who netted 37 goals in the 2009/10 season for City before moving to Crawley last August, has joined ambitious Fleetwood in a season-long loan deal.

Right-back Purkiss, though, remains on the market with Mills a long-time fan of the law graduate.

The City boss said: “Ben Purkiss is somebody that I have always rated and admired in the past even before I came to York.

“He’s a footballer and I am fully aware that he’s available.

“He’s a player that myself and my assistant Darron (Gee) have talked about and we will have to wait and see whether anything happens.”

Of Brodie, who managed 14 goals for last season’s Conference champions despite only starting 16 games, Mills was both enthusiastic and realistic.

Said the City boss: “He’s a goalscorer who did well for York City and, when somebody like that becomes available, you would be stupid not to consider them.

“But there would have been a whole host of factors to think about like would it be right to bring him back to the club and would he fit into the system we want to play? There would have been a lot of talking to be done to see if it would have been the right way to go.”

Mills will not be entertaining an approach for a third City old boy Jimmy Sangare. The French defender finished last season at Oxford with Purkiss after turning down the offer of a new contract with City before Christmas.

He has since been released by U’s boss Chris Wilder but Mills sees no reason to bolster his centre-back options with captain Chris Smith, defensive lynchpin David McGurk and The Press Player of the Year Daniel Parslow already under contract for next season.

“Jimmy Sangare will not be coming back to York,” Mills stated. “I wouldn’t swap him for any of my three or four centre-halves, if you include James Meredith, and five, if you include Jamal Fyfield.

“It’s not an area that I need to spend my budget on and, although he played for me in midfield as well, we have better options in that department as well.”

Mills reiterated that he will not be rushed into any hasty transfer dealings but also pointed out that he has two players who remain his priority targets, saying: “Right from the point that the final whistle went on last season, there have been a couple of players that I have wanted to bring in. I’ve been talking to them and their agents since then and we are still at that stage.”

The City boss went on to reveal that he remained uncommitted on the futures of the nine players – Neil Barrett, Chris Carruthers, Leon Constantine, Liam Darville, David Knight, Levi Mackin, David McDermott, Peter Till and Greg Young – out of contract at Bootham Crescent.

He said: “I haven’t made any decisions yet and, since Michael Rankine left for Aldershot, none have told me that they will be going anywhere else.”