Why Middlesbrough’s transfer stance on a striker in the final week of the window is the right one
Middlesbrough would like to sign a striker in the final week of the transfer window
David Strelec of Middlesbrough celebrates with Riley McGree and Tommy Conway(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
With one week remaining in the January transfer window, Middlesbrough are closing in on signing number three. Jeremy Sarmiento will soon be confirmed as a Boro player, adding to their forward ranks.
In an ideal scenario, Boro will still add a striker to their squad before the window closes, but that remains in the balance. Whether one does arrive at all will depend on what options become available to Boro, and whether they’re affordable.
Boro came into the winter window with a plan, which included options to strengthen up front. Unfortunately, any transfer window plan can only go so far. While Boro will base their plans on conversations and hunches over which players could be available, it takes three parties to make a deal happen.
Or in the case of Patrick Bamford – who was one option explored – it was just two parties, with his Sheffield United deal due to expire. Despite being keen on the return to the Riverside, the 32-year-old ultimately priced himself out of a move. Promotion rivals Coventry and Ipswich made similar decisions before he re-signed at Bramall Lane.
Ultimately, Boro have exhausted the options they had in mind and, in what is always an unfavourable window for the buyer, they have not been able to make any a reality.
That means optimism isn’t currently high on landing a striker, but it’s important to stress their efforts won’t end. The final week of the window can bring many surprises.
Whether it be a re-negotiation on an original target after a change in heart from the selling club, or a player not initially on the list becoming unexpectedly available, Boro will remain open and active in their attempts to sign a striker.
It will be interesting to see what, if any, options do become available to Boro. And following on from that, which, if any, they decide to pursue.
Given Boro’s current position in the Championship, there’s an understandable thinking that they have to go for it this month. They may not have a better opportunity for many a year to win promotion.
However, Boro are limited to signing players who are available, and within their budget. If the players that fall within that scope aren’t players they believe will genuinely strengthen what they already have, they won’t sign someone for the sake of it.
Sure, signing anyone might appease many fans in the short-term. But it would come with longer term implications. Regardless of what division Boro end up in next season, what they spend this month impacts what they have to spend in the summer.
If they stay in the Championship, the fates of Hull City last season and Sheffield United this, after splurges in the prior January window while gambling on promotion that didn’t come, should serve as a warning.
It would be easy to say, take the risk, get promoted and reap the rewards of the Premier League money once there. But that would be to ignore the fallacy that Premier League riches help clubs turn a profit. True, revenue increases significantly. But, to be competitive, so too much expenditure.
Brighton are considered one of the best run clubs in the Premier League. The model many clubs follow in trying to be successful on and off the pitch because of their recruitment successes. They just posted losses of over £50m for the period covering the 2024-25 season.
Effectively, if Boro wish to build a competitive squad upon achieving promotion to the Premier League, they have to have the wiggle room financially to spend. With that in mind, they have to cut their cloth accordingly this month and only sign a striker genuinely worth signing.
They can ill-afford another Kelechi Iheanacho error and aren’t in the same desperate scenario to have to sign someone. It’s true that, to now, their current options have not quite provided the goods. But Boro and Kim Hellberg will back them.
Tommy Conway now has three goals in two games. If he has finally found his goalscoring boots, that could be huge. David Strelec and Kaly Sene have so far struggled but they are close to returning from injury, while it’s worth remembering Latte Lath had only five goals after 29 games of his first season.
FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Keep up with all the Middlesbrough FC latest via the Gazette’s dedicated Facebook page
Unfortunately, there are never any guarantees in football. There can be no guarantee that Conway goes on a long goalscoring run now, or that one of Strelec or Sene emulates Latte Lath in the second half of his first season.
Equally though, Boro won’t have any guarantees that a new striker arrives and suddenly starts firing the goals. Nor can they guarantee that a new striker will be the difference between promotion or failure.
Last January, Sunderland effectively didn’t sign a striker when most felt one was needed. Jayden Danns was signed on loan from Liverpool but injury prevented him from ever arriving on Wearside.
In comparison, the Blades went big. Tom Cannon arrived in a big-money deal, while Ben Brereton Diaz was among four expensive loan deals. We all know what the final outcome was.
So Boro don’t have any guarantees regardless of what decision they make. But they can be sure of one thing: A striker is not NEEDED. In the 12-game period since Kim Hellberg took charge at Boro, no side have scored more goals than them in the Championship.
Even without a prolific striker, the goals are still coming, and have instead been spread around. They have 16 unique scorers this season, which is a league high.
Of course, if the right striker is available, it remains their desire to take the opportunity, and to strengthen Hellberg’s options in the aim of winning promotion. But there’s a reason why they won’t just sign anybody.
———-
Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Middlesbrough FC coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
Your information will be hidden, you’ll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
