Chris Wilder reinforces need for a balanced Middlesbrough squad after loan additions from Arsenal and Brighton

It has been a busy start to the window at the Riverside with Boro welcoming four new faces to their squad.

Loanees Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun have joined from Brighton and Arsenal respectively, whilst Riley McGree and Caolan Boyd-Munce have joined on permanent transfers.

And whilst Wilder has not ruled out further signings this month, he believes that focus now needs to be on ensuring he has a balanced squad for the rest of the campaign:

“There’s ongoing talks with Kieran (Scott), the players’ representatives, the players and potential clubs they could join,” Wilder said. “Obviously, it’s coming towards the back end of the window, so outs are important.

“We have to balance books and be smart in terms of the outgoings and the incomings matching up.

"We’ve invested in a permanent in Riley, although we certainly didn’t blow anybody out of the water to do that, and we’ve brought in the two young lads (Connolly and Balogun) whose clubs wanted them to come to us for footballing reasons.

"Off the back of that, we’ve got to balance things up and decisions have to be made. We’re still trying to improve as well, but I don’t want a bloated squad.

"I want to be managing 23 or 24 players, with three goalkeepers, that gives us really good competition for places, a balance of left and right-footers, and good options.

"Hopefully, when the window shuts, we’ll be in a much better place than when it opened. Personally, I think we’re well on the way to having that window.”

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