Chris Wilder targets five more signings as Middlesbrough boss says deals are close after West Brom draw

Boro were held to a 1-1 draw against West Brom in their opening Championship fixture of the season, with John Swift’s second-half equaliser cancelling out Isaiah Jones’ 10th-minute opener at the Riverside

The hosts dominated the first half but their lack of options on the bench was evident, with youngsters Caolan Boyd-Munce, Hayden Hackney and Josh Coburn making up their seven substitutes.

Boro were able to sign striker Marcus Forss ahead of the match, and the Finland international was brought on for his debut in the second half.

Wilder still wants to strengthen his attacking options, though, while midfielder Marcus Tavernier is set to sign for Bournemouth and wasn’t in the squad against West Brom.

Asked how many players he still wants to sign before the end of the transfer window in a month’s time, Wilder replied: “Five. There is a chunk of players, yeah. We could have had a couple in today and we’re pretty close on quite a lot.

“We are five off, you look at our bench and look at the young kids, it’s good for them and a good experience. I don’t want to leave those places open. I don't like that, I think it’s a lack of respect.

“Boyd-Munce, Hayden Hackney, Josh on another day wouldn’t have been involved.”

On the draw against West Brom, Wilder added: “I thought the performance was excellent, we had 10 or 15 minutes just after half-time where we opened the door to them a little bit and it became a game of basketball. We lost the shape and structure a little bit.

“There shouldn’t have been a West Brom comeback because we should have put the game to bed.

"Missed chances, final ball, I would be a touch critical of the players in terms of going for the jugular. I thought we had them on the ropes in the first half.

“They are a decent outfit, have good players, we’ve seen the team that they put out but I thought we made a really good team look really ordinary for 45 minutes.”