Deal in place for Middlesbrough's number one transfer target plus Neil Warnock reveals Patrick Roberts latest

Boro have been trying to sign another wide player this month and have been looking at Premier League players who may be available on loan.

Negotiations have proved tricky as top-flight clubs don’t want to leave themselves short of options for the second half of the campaign.

Boro had been linked with Everton winger Yannick Bolasie, a player they almost signed in October, but Warnock says he hasn’t spoken to the player for weeks.

When asked about transfer targets ahead of Boro’s trip to Nottingham Forest, Warnock said: “If we could have signed someone in the first week this month, we would have done.

“Unfortunately, the players that I’m after have been involved with the first team at the clubs they’re at.

“Managers are reluctant to let them go until they’ve either replaced them or they’ve got injured players back. I’m still optimistic about my number one target, but that looks like going down to the wire.

“I’m still optimistic on that, but I might just have a little gamble on something else as well. We’ve just got to get somebody wide who is direct and can take people on.”

Warnock says a deal has been drawn up with one player but his parent club are waiting until the end of the month before making a final decision.

“We’ve agreed everything with the player and the club, it’s just a matter of the manager agreeing to letting the player go,” revealed Warnock.

“You can’t really do anything until that happens, and you can’t really blame managers for looking after their own club.

“I’m still optimistic that one will happen as long as the club involved doesn’t get any more injuries or things like that.

“Beyond that, I might well have a gamble on another one. There’s a couple of players that I think, ‘Well, I might have a gamble on somebody like that’, just to help us to the end of the season.”

There has also been uncertainty surrounding the future of Patrick Roberts, who rejoined Boro from Manchester City in October but has started just three league games this campaign.

Roberts’ contract doesn’t include a recall clause and will run until the end of the season, meaning both Boro and City would have to agree to end the loan spell early.

When asked if City want to recall Roberts due to his lack of game time, Warnock said: “ I’m not sure that Manchester City want him back at the moment. Patrick’s with us, and I’ve told him that he’s got to knuckle down.

"Even if he’s not in my thoughts right at this moment, things change. He’s got to keep showing me what he can do in training.

"I don’t think his agent has got him any options, so I don’t think there’s a lot on the table. Patrick’s just got to knuckle down and try to get in my thoughts.”

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