MIDDLESBROUGH have parted company with midfielder Paul Okon, who has joined Gianluca Vialli's Watford revolution on a free transfer.

The Australian skipper signed for the Teessiders at the start of last season, but the 29-year-old former Lazio star has seen his first-team opportunities at The Riverside limited this term.

He has started just one Premiership game under Steve McClaren - despite being a regular under former Boro head coach Terry Venables - but the free transfer capture from Fiorentina has remained an automatic choice as skipper for his country.

Okon has signed on at Vicarage Road until the end of the season, when Vialli will reassess the situation before deciding whether to offer him a longer deal.

The departure of Okon, who has 20 caps for Australia, will take some pressure off the Boro wage bill, with the club desperate to raise funds in a bid to solve an acute goalscoring problem.

The club's failure in front of goal - just three in their last nine games - has seen them slip towards the bottom three in the Premiership and McClaren has admitted he is searching for a solution.

Tuesday night's dire game at Wimbledon highlighted the team's problems, and without Croatian striker Alen Boksic they lack any real threat in front of goal.

Although the defence appears solid with Gareth Southgate superbly marshalling the back four, McClaren is more than aware the forward-line needs new blood.

McClaren said: ''We obviously need to score more goals; you need to score to win football matches.

''We are trying everything possible when we set out.

''The strikers have shown they can score but like any other area of the team they have to be confident to be at their best.

''But they can't do it alone, the whole team has to lift its game and compete.''

Mclaren also dismissed any talk of a rift with Boksic who was due to return to training yesterday, with McClaren hoping to have him back in contention for Saturday's visit to Fulham.

Boro's top scorer should be fit to face Fulham at the weekend alongside Argentinian playmaker Carlos Marinelli, who also missed Tuesday's trip to Selhurst Park with an ankle injury.

"We felt Alen needed a couple more days training and that he would be better off getting that at the club in the next couple of days," said McClaren.

"Hopefully he will be back for Fulham."

But despite the Croatian's imminent return Boro are still searching for a goalscorer and they may switch their search from Manchester United's 30-year-old Dwight Yorke to Derby's Malcolm Christie.

McClaren has admitted making 'a tentative enquiry' for £7m-rated Yorke, but if the former Manchester United number two continues to put his faith in youth, then 22-year-old Christie could prove the more attractive option.

The England Under-21 striker has been the subject of a number of covetous glances for a while, and although Sunderland are also believed to be interested, former Rams coach Steve McClaren could be the more attractive option to Christie.

The Teessiders were strongly linked with a move for the youngster during the summer and the man described by Fabrizio Ravanelli as the next Michael Owen, could help kickstart Boro's season.

* Tickets for the FA Cup third round replay between Boro and Wimbledon are on sale, with the replay scheduled for Tuesday January 15 at the Riverside Stadium, kick-off 7.45pm, priced £15 adults and £5 concessions.

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