AITOR KARANKA is weighing up a number of transfer options abroad in a bid to turn Middlesbrough into an automatic promotion team.

The Spanish head coach has had discussions with chief scout Gary Gill and the club's hierarchy to determine what route to take this summer.

And as well as drawing up a list of suitable young players from the Premier League and Championship, it has also emerged that avenues on the continent have been created and are likely to be followed up.

There is understood to have been contact with clubs in Austria, Holland and Switzerland, although they have opted out of opportunities to sign Jonathan Soriano from Salzburg and Ali Massaoud, who has now joined FC Vaduz from Willem II.

It was claimed yesterday in Portugal’s leading sports paper that Estoril striker Frederic Mendy has been mentioned, although the link to Boro has come more from Mendy’s desire to find a new club, preferably in England, ahead of becoming a free agent next month.

Chairman Steve Gibson has enlisted the help of former Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon over the last couple of years as well as Karanka’s agent Jorge Mendes. Both Kenyon and Mendes are encouraged to present fresh ideas for the Boro camp to consider.

The current set-up has already brought in the likes of Kike, Tomas Mejias and Emilio Nsue from abroad.

Boro are in need of plenty of new faces before August. As well as allowing three first team players to leave, they have also lost a number of loan signings after the end of their deals.

Karanka would still like to have Patrick Bamford back for a further loan stint but Jose Mourinho is keen to see how the England Under-21s striker deals with the Premier League. That has alerted Sunderland, West Brom and Newcastle among others. It could, though, be a deal revisited in August if he has not moved on.

Bamford’s Chelsea team-mate Nathan Ake looks a likelier arrival at the Riverside. He will not be returning to Reading where he was last season and Karanka has already had a discussion with Mourinho about the defender/midfielder.

Karanka would like to have made progress on the transfer front before the pre-season friendlies start. Middlesbrough yesterday confirmed a third game of the summer by announcing they will head for Barnsley.

The Championship’s play-off finalists go to Oakwell on Wednesday, July 29 four days after facing Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Boro's pre-season opener is at York City on July 11 and are close to confirming more dates, including a home friendly at the Riverside on Saturday, August 1.