Middlesbrough’s stance on signing a striker clarified

Middlesbrough will be looking to sign a striker to replace Cameron Archer during the summer transfer window, a report from the Northern Echo has revealed.

The Aston Villa man arrived at the Riverside in January and registered an impressive 11 goals and six assists in 23 competitive appearances for Boro, playing a big part in the Teesside outfit’s promotion push.

Enjoying a very productive loan spell at Preston North End during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, he was expected to make a big impact at Boro and he certainly didn’t disappoint, although the Championship side were unable to keep him with the player returning to Villa Park.

Middlesbrough’s forward department

On paper, they actually have quite a few forward options they can call on, including Marcus Forss and Matt Crooks, with Michael Carrick seeing the latter as a striker rather than a central midfielder.

Sonny Finch can also step up to the plate if required and Chuba Akpom can operate as a striker, taking their total of available forward options to four.

And with Josh Coburn and Matthew Hoppe returning from their loan spells at Bristol Rovers and Hibernian, that just goes to show the number of options Carrick has to play with during pre-season when he assesses who should stay, who should leave on loan and who should depart permanently.

Are Middlesbrough right to target another striker?

Boro would probably be wise to bring in a first-choice forward option because Archer’s departure has left a big void to fill.

Akpom may be a very good goalscorer but there are no guarantees that he will stay at the Riverside and even if he does, he may not be as prolific as he was last season.

As well as this, Forss may be required out wide at times and if there’s an injury crisis in the midfield department, Crooks may need to operate in a deeper role, so you have to feel there’s room for another forward to come in.

Coburn and Hoppe could potentially have a big role but if neither of them are going to be playing regularly, they need to go out on loan spells because they are both still young and could become valuable assets in the future if they can develop elsewhere before returning to the Riverside.

Bringing Archer back would be an immense bit of business, but it would be difficult to see him playing in the second tier next season after proving himself at that level.