MIDDLESBROUGH are increasingly confident of pulling off a £7.5m double deal for international duo Christian Stuani and Stewart Downing before the end of the week.
But head coach Aitor Karanka is having to reassess his defensive plans after the club’s only summer arrival so far, Alex Baptiste, broke his leg in Saturday’s 1-0 friendly win at York City.
Baptiste’s injury cast a long shadow over the victory at Bootham Crescent, and Karanka will attempt to speed up his proposed loan capture of Chelsea’s Tomas Kalas during this week’s pre-season training camp in Marbella.
Boro are set to play three matches in Spain, but Karanka’s attention will be split between his duties in his homeland and his continued monitoring of transfer developments relating to Stuani and Downing.
Stuani, a Uruguay international who was part of his nation’s squad at the recent Copa America, is close to joining Middlesbrough after intensive negotiations at the end of last week.
The 28-year-old, who boasts 22 senior caps with Uruguay and is set to sign a four-year deal at the Riverside, scored 12 La Liga goals for Espanyol last season, and his capture would represent a notable coup for both Karanka and Boro chairman Steve Gibson.
Gibson has put together a deal worth around £2.5m for Stuani, and Espanyol are set to accept the offer as they still owe money to the striker’s previous employers, Reggina, in the wake of the South American’s €1.2m move to Spain in 2012.
“It’s pretty sure he (Stuani) goes out,” said Espanyol president Joan Collet. “We have 50 per cent of his economic rights, and we would get about a million and a half (Euros).”
Boro officials also hope to wrap up a deal for Downing in the next few days, with West Ham set to unveil a new midfield signing of their own that will enable the England international to move on.
Downing was the only member of the entire West Ham squad not be involved in either last week’s Europa League qualifier with Lusitans or Saturday’s friendly draw with Peterborough, and his absence from both games has been interpreted as confirmation that he does not form part of new manager Slaven Bilic’s plans for next season.
Middlesbrough have been battling with Sunderland and Leicester City in pursuit of the Teessider, who began his career at the Riverside before moving on to Aston Villa and Liverpool, and are ready to offer a five-year contract in order to push through a deal.
Downing has always been keen to return to his hometown club, and a move could yet be agreed in time for him to link up with the rest of the Boro squad in Spain.
It had been anticipated that Baptiste would be involved in Marbella, but the recent arrival from Bolton Wanderers will instead be embarking on leg surgery that will rule him out of the majority of next season.
The 29-year-old, who had been earmarked for Boro’s problematic right-back spot, shattered both his tibia and fibular bones as he challenged York trialist, Middlesbrough-born Danny Jackson, in the first half of Saturday’s game.
The tackle appeared to be innocuous at first, but Baptiste was left in obvious agony and a lengthy spell of medical treatment preceded him leaving the field on a stretcher.
“This is the kind of day where I don’t want to speak about football,” said Karanka, in the wake of his side’s 1-0 win. “We are all very disappointed, and after Alex was injured, I (mentally) left the game.
“Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to understand how unfair football is. One week ago, I was together with Alex in my office. Now, he is in the hospital. If the feeling from Wembley is a motivation, then we have another motivation now to dedicate it to him.
“I don’t know exactly what has happened, but it is going to be a serious injury and he will be out for a long time. I think it is a complete break, although we will have to wait and see.”
Karanka had already been lining up a return for Kalas, who spent three months of last season on loan at the Riverside from Chelsea, but Saturday’s developments will result in him attempting to speed up his recruitment of the Czech international.
Kalas’ defensive versatility mirrors that of Baptiste, but it remains to be seen whether Karanka feels he now needs an additional defender with his only summer addition facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Boro fielded 25 different players at York, with striker Bradley Fewster scoring the only goal of the game with 12 minutes remaining as he latched on to Lee Tomlin’s through ball and slotted home.
Full-back James Husband hit the post, with Kike also spurning a couple of decent chances, as Boro’s players eased themselves back into action against League Two opposition.
York First Half (4-4-2): Flinders; Nolan, Swann, Winfield, McCombe; Platt, Penn, Berrett, Straker; Trialist A (Johnson), Oliver.
York Second Half (4-4-2): Ingham; McCoy, Lowe, Trialist B, Ilesanmi; Meikle, Summerfield, Godfrey, Carson; Rzonca, Trialist A (Johnson) (Hirst 75).
Middlesbrough First Half (4-2-3-1): Konstantopoulos (Mejias 35); Baptiste (Bennett 29), Ayala, Fry, Husband; Leadbitter, Maloney; Wildschut, Cooke, Mondal; Kike.
Middlesbrough Second Half (4-2-3-1): Mejias (Ripley 64); Bennett, Burn, Jackson, Friend; Clayton, Kitching; Chapman, Tomlin, Reach; Fewster.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel