The transfer dilemma Middlesbrough are facing with less than three weeks to go until Carabao Cup opener

Since the end of June, five senior players, Daniel Ayala, Rudy Gestede, Ryan Shotton, Adam Clayton and George Friend have left the Riverside, while former loanees Harold Moukoudi, Patrick Roberts, Lukas Nmecha and Ravel Morrison have also departed.

In terms of incomings, only former QPR captain Grant Hall has signed for the Teessiders this summer, while youngsters such as Marcus Browne, Stephen Walker, Marc Bola and Sam Stubbs are back following loan spells.

It’s understandable, then, that there is a growing concern among supporters with less than three weeks to go until the start of the new season – which will begin with a Carabao Cup tie on September 5.

Surely Boro will have done some more business before then? Alarm bells really would be ringing if they haven’t. Yet they can’t just be tempted into knee-jerk signings, the ones that have proved costly in the past.

Following promotion to the Premier League in 2016, the Teessiders handed out some bumper deals to players who simply didn’t warrant them.

As a consequence Boro have been forced to cut their costs over the last 12 months, while their Premier League parachute payments have also dried up.

It’s often said clubs are going through a rebuilding project when a new manager comes in, yet, following the departures of promotion winners Friend, Clayton and Ayala, Boro really have come to the end of an era.

For that reason, the club really can’t tie-down a new influx of players who don’t go on to fulfil their price tags.

Manager Neil Warnock will also want to sign the right players, ones who will buy into his project and are committed to the cause.

That’s easier said than done, of course, and the Boro boss admitted last week he tried to sign Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli on loan, before the Belgian broke strict quarantine rules by taking a trip to Spain.

"I rang Celtic last week asking about Bolingoli on loan, it's a good job I didn't get him,” Warnock told TalkSport after the incident.

At the time, Warnock’s comments earlier in the transfer window were refreshing, with the Boro boss saying he wouldn’t wait around for responses from potential signings.

Yet the reality is that Boro need players, and they need them soon.

Ideally Warnock would have brought in at least two more senior signings before this week’s return to training.

When he spoke to the press two weeks ago, the Boro boss said he wanted another player before the end of the week and three or four before the end of August.

Yet, as he pointed out a week later, nobody wants to do business at this stage of a truncated pre-season.

That’s not good news for Boro who probably need another two centre-backs, a few more wide players, more creativity in midfield and additional options up front.

That’s the dilemma the Teessiders are facing as time runs out until the season kicks-off.

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