Future of Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest target discussed, praise for Stoke City players plus goalkeeper signs new deal

We round up some of the latest Boro-related news stories as the Teessiders prepare for Wednesday’s trip to Preston:

Future of reported target discussed

Boro have previously been linked with West Brom winger Kamil Grosicki who is still yet to make a Premier League appearance for the Baggies this season.

The Polish international was close to joining Nottingham Forest on loan in October, while Boro boss Neil Warnock has also said he’d be interested in Grosicki.

Yet West Brom boss Slaven Bilic says the player may still have a future at the Hawthorns.

Grosicki scored twice as the Baggies’ under-23 side beat Sunderland 3-1 last week.

When asked about Grosicki, Bilic said: “Kamil is a quality player. He’s working very hard. He was very close to going to Forest on loan, but he didn’t go - he stayed here.

“He’s a good professional so he’s involved in training. We watched that game, my staff were there. Of course, he scored a couple of goals and scored three goals for Poland in the last international break."

“What has also affected him is that we changed the system, we are playing without wingers.”

We had to dig deep says Stoke boss

Stoke boss Michael O'Neill was pleased with the character his side showed during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Boro.

Nathan Collins’ 19th-minute header was the difference between the two sides in a game of few clear-cut chances.

O’Neill said after the game: "Today we showed great character. We had a number of players out before the game and lost three players during the game.

"We had to go deep into the bench today and the boys showed determination and spirit to hold onto the lead.”

Goalkeeper extends loan spell

Finally, Boro goalkeeper Brad James has extended his loan deal at Aldershot until the end of the 2020/21 season.

The 21-year-old joined the National League side in November and has made six appearances for the Shots this campaign, keeping three clean sheets.

James helped Aldershot beat Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday, a result which moved them up to 13th in the table.

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