Ex-Middlesbrough ace closes in on £8m transfer move, Aston Villa man tipped for exit

A loss for Boro could all-but end their hopes of making the play-off places, as they look to bridge a nine-point gap currently standing between them and a top six finishing, with just six games left to make up the ground.

Speaking after their last game, a 1-1 draw with Watford, Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock lauded Hayden Coulson for adapting to an unfamiliar number ten role when coming off the bench, and claimed: “In the first five minutes he looked like he was a rabbit in the headlights.

“But he does so well in training in that sort of situation in tight areas with bodies around him, he’s the best player in the club in training in those tight situations.

“We just said why don’t we give him a chance at number ten, that’s what we said and this opportunity came.”

“There was only Marvin (Johnson) defensively on the bench other than Hayden, everyone else was a forward so we didn’t have much options really.”

Here are today's biggest transfer stories and the latest team news involving Middlesbrough and the rest of the Championship, as the build-up to the action to this weekend's action continues: