Middlesbrough's financial position highlighted compared to Championship rivals after transfer setbacks

At the end of last season, Warnock and the club’s recruitment team drew up a list of targets in different positions as the Middlesbrough boss looked at strengthening the spine of the team.

But after bringing in former QPR captain Grant Hall on a free transfer, the Teessiders have now gone nearly three weeks without making a signing, while some of their targets have moved elsewhere.

Last week Cardiff won the race to sign Wigan frontman Kieffer Moore, while Brentford have brought in Charlie Goode amid interest from other clubs.

It’s even been claimed Goode, 25, was close to agreeing a deal with Boro and met with Warnock but couldn’t agree terms.

Instead the defender has penned a four-year deal, with a further one-year option, at a club who reached the play-off final last season - a deal which highlights Boro’s Championship status.

Moore’s eventual transfer also took some time, reportedly because of wage negotiations, and it appears Boro have struggled to match some of their rivals financially this summer.

Warnock knew that may be the case when he spoke to the press earlier this month, following conversations with Boro chairman Steve Gibson.

“We aren’t the highest payers in the league by any means now and we have to cut our cloth accordingly,“ Warnock admitted.

“We try and get value for money but at the same time Steve knows I want to be successful so he’s doing the best he can to give me the tools to do that.”

As we’ve seen before, money doesn’t always buy Championship success, and when Boro spent around £50million on new signings in the summer of 2017, they finished behind Warnock’s Cardiff who were promoted on a fraction of that budget.

Yet there’s no getting away from the fact some extra financial muscle would help at this stage.

Under Gibson’s leadership, Boro remain a stable club compared to some of their league rivals, yet the last few weeks have once again highlighted the Teessiders’ financial challenges.

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