FOR all that every football fan knows there tends to be a frantic end to a summer transfer window, Middlesbrough supporters will be left wondering why things have been allowed to get to this stage?

Tony Pulis has tried to explain.

With just days remaining until Thursday’s deadline, Boro head to Millwall for the season opener on Saturday afternoon fearing two of their prize assets will have left the club before next Friday.

Manager Pulis almost conceded defeat on that front in his pre-match press conference.

Ben Gibson and Adama Traore are both likely to be on their way in the coming days.

Burnley tonight had a £15m bid accepted for the centre-half. The frustrating thing from a supporter's point of view, is that when promotion was not achieved in May, it seemed then that both would go.

Sealing a return to the Premier League would have been enough to keep them at the Riverside Stadium for a further year, a failure to do so though meant it seemed inevitable that top-flight clubs would come calling.

That is what has happened and both are likely to be sold, leaving Boro rushing around trying to have incoming deals in place. Couldn’t things have been done differently?

Pulis said: “I did, I saw it coming like everyone else, the club seen it coming too. It is frustrating that it’s last minute but that’s how it is. Personally, I do think we should go back to the old system for transfers because everything builds up to a crescendo to that date.

“Everyone waits and waits, thinking they will get the best deal, right up to the Friday. It builds up to that point where it’s a tipping point, where the old system continues all the way through and it’s far better.”

Pulis accepts that time is running out. He also recalls that in January he was left short of a striker, even two, when Boro failed to get deals over the line for the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic after allowing Martin Braithwaite and Ashley Fletcher to depart on loans.

He has his targets in mind now. He wants a defender, a midfielder and a couple of forwards at least.

Ipswich’s Martyn Waghorn, West Ham’s Jordan Hugill and QPR’S Luke Freeman are in his sights, while West Brom winger Matt Phillips, Aston Villa’s Albert Adomah and Burnley pair Jon Walters and Sam Vokes have all been under consideration.

It is understood that Middlesbrough will tie up an £8m deal for Waghorn first, then Boro-born Hugill will cost a loan fee of around £2m if it goes ahead like both parties want. 

Pulis said: “It does happen – we might have to dig in again this time. I am not going to go out and buy eight or nine players from wherever, throw mud at the wall and hope one or two of those stick. You can spend a lot of money doing that but it’s not the way I work.

“I don’t think there is any chance of us ever letting a player go when it doesn’t fit a valuation of the club and I don’t think there’s any chance the money will come in and won’t be spent. We have to manage that in the right way.”

But Pulis, speaking ahead of a trip to Millwall when he is without Traore, Paddy McNair and Daniel Ayala through injury, is not prepared to keep players if he feels they want to move on.

Even though Gibson is a homegrown talent, and a Boro fan, he is hungry for a Premier league chance again. Burnley look set to sign him despite having two offers rejected, while Wolves seem certain to match Traore’s £18m release fee in his contract.

Pulis said: “I am a great believer that stopping players from moving on is not the right thing, it’s knowing where the next one is which is the right thing. Giving players an opportunity and a chance, and they might want to stay, then if it is a step up then the majority are ambitious, and they have worked for that, to better themselves.”

But regardless of who stays or who goes in the coming days, Pulis is certain that he will be on his way to making his side a stronger force.

The injuries and possible sales have opened the door for youngsters.

Harry Chapman and Lewis Wing have both travelled. Teenager Nathan Wood could even figure on the bench, as back-up to Dael Fry and Aden Flint if Gibson doesn’t play.

Pulis said: “The best thing about the academy is they play football the way football should be played. It’s intense, they work them hard, people here are ex-professionals and they know what it takes.

“You walk up to the canteen and they are good people, polite.

“We will see whether Harry and Lewis play.”