MIDDLESBROUGH’S hopes of pushing through a swift deal for defender Harry Maguire have been dented by the ongoing managerial uncertainty at Hull City.

Boro turned to Maguire when a proposed deal for Neven Subotic collapsed because of a failed medical, and tabled a £4m offer for the 23-year-old, who made 33 appearances for Hull last season.

Aitor Karanka, who is close to agreeing a deal for Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan, had hoped to reach a quick agreement that might have enabled him to include Maguire in his squad for this weekend’s friendly at Villa Park.

However, Steve Bruce’s departure from Hull at the end of last week has plunged the Humberside club into a state of chaos, and resulted in the club’s owners putting a block on any incoming or outgoing transfers.

Bruce had been ready to sell Maguire, who had struggled to dislodge Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson from the former Sunderland boss’ preferred starting line-up.

His successor might have a different opinion of the centre-half though, and the KC Stadium hierarchy will not be sanctioning any deals until their managerial situation is resolved.

That could happen by the end of the week, with former Everton boss Roberto Martinez a strong favourite to succeed Bruce.

Middlesbrough will attempt to kick-start talks once a new boss is confirmed, although Karanka is understood to be working on a list of alternative targets as he looks to address his growing problems at the heart of the back four.

Daniel Ayala is a major doubt for Boro’s Premier League opener against Stoke as he continues to recover from an ankle injury, and summer signing Bernardo Espinosa is unlikely to be available until the start of September at the earliest, having been sidelined since the start of the year with a knee ligament problem.

Espinosa is one of six players to have arrived on Teesside since the end of last season, and it will be interesting to see how many feature in Boro’s opening line-up of the new Premier League campaign.

Victor Valdes, Marten de Roon and Alvaro Negredo are all expected to start against Stoke, with Viktor Fischer and Antonio Barragan hoping to make compelling cases for their inclusion in Boro’s three remaining friendlies against Villa, Udinese and Real Sociedad.

Last week’s training camp in Marbella was a key part of the new signings’ integration into the squad, and midfielder Adam Clayton was pleased with the way they bought into the existing team ethic.

“They all got involved, and they all add to the group we have here,” said Clayton. “We had a great dressing room last season, and from what I’ve seen it’s only been added to with the players who have come in. There’s no negatives at all, and we’re all looking forward to the season.”