MIDDLESBROUGH have made a final attempt to re-sign Patrick Bamford, but the Chelsea striker remains reluctant to spend another season in the Championship.

Bamford, who scored 19 goals while on loan at the Riverside last term, was left out of Chelsea’s 23-man squad for their pre-season tour of North America on Thursday, with Jose Mourinho effectively ruling the 21-year-old out of his plans for next season.

While Aitor Karanka recently admitted there was little chance of Bamford returning to Teesside next season, the Boro head coach is understood to have reiterated his desire to re-sign the forward in the wake of Mourinho’s decision to exclude him from Chelsea’s tour.

Bamford is aware of Middlesbrough’s continued pursuit, but would rather move to a Premier League side than spend another year in the second tier.

Crystal Palace have outlined their interest, and Bamford has held talks with senior figures at the Selhurst Park club about a possible deal. However, the Eagles’ preference at this stage is a deal for Chelsea’s Loic Remy.

Norwich City are also keen to add Bamford to their ranks following last season’s promotion, and the Canaries could offer the England Under-21 international a better chance of regular first-team football next season.

Both Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also interested, and Boro’s recruitment team accept the club will struggle to tempt Bamford to step back into the Championship.

As a result, they are monitoring alternative options, with Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes and Liverpool’s Rickie Lambert both regarded as realistic possibilities. Boro have already agreed a €3m deal for Espanyol’s Christian Stuani, with the Uruguayan’s arrival likely to be rubber-stamped next week.

While Bamford’s future remains up in the air, Boro secured the return of one Chelsea player yesterday when Tomas Kalas’ season-long loan from Stamford Bridge was finally confirmed.

The Czech Republic international, who spent three months of last season on loan at the Riverside, was given permission to travel to Boro’s Spanish training camp at the start of the week, and with Stewart Downing’s £5m move from West Ham having given the entire squad a considerable lift, Kalas is predicting great things for next season.

“I’d already decided at the end of last season that if Chelsea would like to get me on loan again, this would be my first choice, so it was easy when I heard I could stay,” said Kalas.

“It’s been easy to adapt because I know the lads. I know Marbella because we came here last year, so it’s been easy.

“I think we’re still building the team. It’s a mix of everything. Everyone is still working on it, and I think we will be stronger than before.”

Kalas made 17 appearances for Boro last season, with his final outing coming in the 1-0 league win over Norwich in the final month of the campaign.

The terms of his loan deal meant he was unable to feature in the play-offs, and his presence was missed as Aitor Karanka was forced to turn to Dean Whitehead to fill the right-back berth.

“Obviously, I wanted to be involved (in the play-offs), said Kalas, whose importance was enhanced when summer signing Alex Baptiste broke his leg in last weekend’s friendly win at York. “Those (games) were something special at the end because you were playing for promotion and I didn’t have a chance to help the team.

“It was a bit disappointing I couldn’t play, but this is a new challenge and hopefully we can get promoted without the play-offs.”

Downing could kick off his second spell with an appearance in a behind-closed-doors training game later today, having flown out to Spain yesterday along with Jonathan Woodgate, who has signed a one-year deal that will enable him to continue playing next season.

Downing signed a four-year deal, with an option for a further 12 months, on Thursday, despite West Ham boss Slaven Bilic having attempted to persuade him to remain at Upton Park.

Bilic was keen to retain Downing, who still had two years of his Hammers contract to run, but the 30-year-old had his heart set on a return to his hometown club.

“I didn’t want him to go,” said Bilic. “He’s a quality English player and I know how hard it is to get the quality ones.

“Of course I rate him. I tried to persuade him to stay with us. I know him from the national team when we played England, and he was brilliant in the first half of last season.

“I was counting on him big time, but he told me that he wanted to go home. He said, ‘I like you and everything, but I want to go home. If it was any other club, I would stay here’.

“Maybe I could have stopped him and all that, but it is not what we wanted to do. He wanted to leave.”