NATHAN THOMAS looks poised for Middlesbrough, as interest in the Hartlepool United winger cools from Sheffield United.

The Blades were set to lodge a £270,000 bid for his services, but a move to Boro is in motion and the League One champions accept they can’t compete with his home club. Leeds are also keen.

Thomas was at Victoria Park yesterday, for treatment and tests on the knee injury which forced him to declare himself unfit to play in the final game of the season last weekend against Doncaster.

Amid an electric end to last season and a fine start to the present campaign, Pools were seeking a fee in excess of £1m for his services in the January transfer window.

However, he was injured in the defeat at Barnet in November and missed three months of the season following surgery.

He rushed back to fitness to try and help Pools’ unsuccessful relegation fight. But he failed to find anywhere near the form of the first-half of the season and felt hampered by the tactics enforced by former boss Dave Jones.

He lasted an hour of the penultimate game against Colchester before being substituted and withdrew from training last Friday morning.

A move to Middlesbrough would complete a North-East haul for 22-year-old Thomas. He became an apprentice at Sunderland in 2011 after leaving Newcastle, had a brief spell at Darlington in 2012/13 and made 55 appearances for Pools after signing in January 2016 from Mansfield

Pools are in the process of appointing a new manager and a statement from the club’s chief executive Pam Duxbury said she hoped to make an announcement next week.

Matthew Bates, caretaker boss at the end of the season is a 5-1 shot, with the odds on Sam Collins returning to the club reduced to 1/2 yesterday from 8s with bookmakers betvictor.

He is keen on the job after he was dumped by Jones in March.

Kevin Cooper, an assistant manager under Jones, is also strangely amongst the short priced runners. 

Duxbury said: “We can’t hide from the fact that the 2016/17 season has been a massive disappointment but the intensity of your support at the weekend makes us all even more determined going forward.

“From a club point of view it has to be business as usual because there is so much to get through during the closed season and the planning for 2017/18 has already started.

“Obviously, our biggest priority at the current time is to appoint a new Manager in order to give us the best chance of moving ahead with summer recruitment and plans for the new campaign.

“It’s crucial that we get this appointment right but we recognise the need to move swiftly and we would expect to be in a position to make a further announcement by the end of next week.’’