Middlesbrough transfer latest as Wrexham and Bristol City move for Boro target
The latest transfer talk from the Riverside Stadium as Middlesbrough look to add to their squad during the January transfer window.
Middlesbrough have already added two new faces to their squad during the January transfer window - but will face a battle to add another reported target over the next fortnight.
After wrapping up a deal to sign Chelsea attacking midfielder Leo Castledine, Boro moved for Aston Villa youngster Finley Munroe as Kim Hellberg seized a first opportunity to put his own stamp on the squad he inherited from Rob Edwards earlier this season. Further new signings remain on the agenda for the Swede - and adding more firepower to his ranks reportedly on the agenda.
Football League World have reported Middlesbrough will face competition from a whole host of Championship rivals if they look to make a move for the Barnsley striker Davis Keillor-Dunn. The Wearside-born frontman joined the Tykes from Mansfield Town in the final days of the summer 2024 transfer window and has gone on to score 33 goals and provide six assists in 75 appearances during his time at Oakwell.
That has led to intense speculation Keillor-Dunn could make another move in his career and Boro have been suggested as a possible suitor as they look to boost their options in attacking areas before the end of the month. However, Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End are also understood to have been monitoring the striker in recent months and the latest reports have stated Wrexham and Bristol City have Keillor-Dunn ‘on their radar’ as they look to push towards the play-off places between now and the end of the season. Both clubs are said to have ‘registered their interest’ in Keillor-Dunn and Barnsley are said to be ‘open to sanctioning a deal’ before the January transfer window comes to a close if the price is right - and that stance appeared for be confirmed by Tykes manager Conor Hourihane.
Speaking earlier this month, he said: "I don't think we're going out there broadly and saying Davo is available to be sold. I think that's not right at all, really. But I do think that, you know, everyone's got a value. Everyone's got a position, everyone. And that's at Barnsley, by the way. Or if we went and put three million on the table for a Bolton player, no doubt we'd get him as well. So I think everyone's got a value. At this level particularly, if someone comes in and puts the right money on the table for any player, you have to consider it, unfortunately.
"I'm not saying that's the case, but are we going out and telling clubs that we're selling Davo? Absolutely not. I think it's typical agents and looking after their clients and trying to get suitors and what not. You know, it's typical this time of season, really. Look, the amount of things you see on social media is just stark. And if you believe everything that you read, then we're all in a bit of trouble. I think it's a bit of nonsense, really."
Former Boro striker reflects on transfer ‘misstep’
Almost 30 years have passed since Middlesbrough shocked European football by landing an ambitious deal for one of the game’s most recognisable strikers.
A big money agreement was reached for Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli just months after he had helped the Serie A giants become European giants. The Italy international enjoyed a fine introduction to life on Teesside by bagging a debut hat-trick against Liverpool and went on to score 32 goals in 50 games for Bryan Robson’s side. However, he was unable to help Boro preserve their Premier League status and departed to join Marseille just 12 months after moving to England.
Ravanelli has now reflected on the events that led to his move to the Riverside Stadium and hit out at Juve’s conduct as he accused the Serie A club of selling him ‘without telling me anything’.
In a chat with TuttoSport, the former Boro striker said: “Middlesbrough was a misstep for me. A downsizing. It’s not a club with winning DNA. At Lazio, however, things went much better and I returned to winning, but nothing ever took Juve out of my mind. I felt betrayed by the management at the time. They sold me without telling me anything, but I still had three years left on my contract. I could stay, dig in my heels, prove I could be reborn at Juve.
“Umberto Agnelli, shortly before the sale, let me into his office, telling me that one day I could become captain. I had goosebumps. But then, after the final in Rome, they had already organised everything with Middlesbrough, and I chose to accept purely out of revenge.”
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