Middlesbrough FC transfer rumours: Striker linked plus Celtic and Stoke City reports re-emerge

Boro boss Neil Warnock said on Tuesday he’s hopeful the club can add ‘three or four’ more players to their squad before the end of the month, following the arrival of centre-back Grant Hall last week.

After bolstering his defensive options, Warnock said he’s now looking to improve the squad’s attacking capabilities, but admitted it may prove tricky to find better strikers than Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher at Championship level.

Yet one name which has been linked with a move to Teesside is former Blackpool frontman Armand Gnanduillet who is a free agent after leaving Bloomfield Road at the start of July.

According to Football Insider, a source at the Riverside has said Boro have set their sights on signing the 28-year-old who scored 15 goals in 30 League One appearances last season.

Warnock has also admitted that players may be allowed to leave the Riverside this summer if acceptable offers are made.

One player who has attracted interest over the last 12 months is midfielder Paddy McNair, who has been on Celtic’s radar for some time.

Hoops boss Neil Lennon admitted last summer the Scotish giants were interested in the Northern Ireland international yet a move never materialised.

According to 90min.com, Celtic have now joined the hunt for Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy despite competition from several other Premier League clubs.

The report also says McNair, 25, is considered an alternative if the McCarthy deal falls through.

It’s also been claimed Boro’s Championship rivals Stoke City are tracking McNair now that former Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill is in charge of the Potters.

Finally, former Boro striker Rudy Gestede has given his side of the story after leaving the club at the end of June.

The 31-year-old frontman scored just eight goals in 71 appearances during his three and a half years at the club.

Speaking to Talksport, Gestede said: “When you don’t play week-in, week-out it’s obviously difficult to be at your best.

“For the last two or three seasons it didn’t happen for me unfortunately for many reasons.

“It’s easy to say injuries but then when I was fit for a year Pulis just decided not to play me for any reason.

“I trained hard always but that’s football, it’s sometimes just (another) human being’s choice and you just get on with it.

“So I think as a fan you are always judged on one game. I can not complain about it because that’s our job.

“But when you don’t play for a long period of time and you come back obviously you can not be at your best but because you are not at your best the manager doesn’t play you in the next game so you just go in a negative (cycle) and it’s difficult to perform.”

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