MIDDLESBROUGH will make a renewed attempt to sign Newcastle United goalkeeper Karl Darlow this weekend after their initial offer of £5m was rejected at St James’ Park.

Boro signed off two deals earlier today, with midfielder Jonny Howson and defender Cyrus Christie completing moves from Norwich City and Derby County respectively.

However, Monk’s attempts to force through a third signing broke down when Newcastle rejected Boro’s initial offer for Darlow, who is available for sale this summer at the right price.

Boro were willing to pay £5m for Darlow, although it is understood their offer involved a number of clauses that meant their initial payment was less than the headline figure.

Newcastle officials want the vast majority of any fee to be paid up front, but have left the door open for Boro’s recruitment team to restart negotiations this weekend.

Monk turned to Darlow after moves for Keiren Westwood and Sam Johnstone failed to come to fruition, and regards the 26-year-old as a better option than Robert Green, who he managed at Leeds United last season.

Newcastle are willing to sell Darlow this summer, with Rafael Benitez having dropped the former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper for the final three games of last season’s Championship title campaign.

Benitez is trying to recruit a new goalkeeper of his own, although attempts to sign Pepe Reina and Willy Caballero have failed to come to fruition and the Newcastle boss is not believed to harbour a strong interest in Joe Hart despite having been extensively linked with the England international.

Monk’s first two signings as Boro boss were completed today, and Howson and Christie will both be part of the group that flies to Portugal on Sunday for a training camp that will feature friendlies against Oxford United and Chesterfield.

Howson has made a £5m move from Norwich City, after the Carrow Road club accepted Boro’s second offer for the midfielder, having previously rejected the Teessiders’ first bid.

The 29-year-old spent six years on Leeds United’s books after graduating from the Elland Road academy, and made more than 188 senior appearances for Norwich after moving to East Anglia in January 2012.

Known as an energetic box-to-box midfielder, with a keen eye for goal, he will provide an additional attacking threat to a Boro midfield unit that often lacked creativity last season.

Norwich had been keen to keep him this summer, but he expressed a desire to move on and Boro beat off strong competition from Sunderland and Leeds to secure his signature.

The Teessiders also had to battle hard to land Christie, with Derby having rebuffed a number of inquiries before relenting and agreeing to sell the Republic of Ireland international.

A right-back who made his professional debut with Coventry City, Christie joined Derby in 2014 and has made more than 100 Championship appearances for the Rams.

He was a regular presence in Derby’s first team last season, and became Boro’s leading right-back target when an attempt to prise Chris Gunter from Reading failed.

Christie effectively replaces Antonio Barragan, who has joined Real Betis on a season-long loan, with a view to a possible permanent transfer next summer.

The double capture is a relief for Monk, who has been working hard to try to engineer a transfer breakthrough ever since his appointment was confirmed last month.

"We’re pleased because we’ve been working hard as a club to bring the right players in,” said the Boro boss.

"I’ve said before that we have a core group who have been working well, and we only want to recruit players in certain areas with certain strengths to enhance that.

"Jonny is a different type of midfielder to what we have and he gives us different options. He has experience and ability, and he’s determined to do well and take this club forward.

"Cyrus is a really good addition in an area we are lacking. It’s for these guys to come in and to push as hard as the other players have been already to be prepared for the season ahead."

Next week’s training camp in the Algarve will be another important part of Monk’s attempts to stamp his own imprint on his squad, with full-back George Friend having been impressed with the former Swansea and Leeds manager’s impact so far.

“Everyone has their own way of working,” said Friend. “I remember at Wolves, Mick McCarthy would run us a lot. I’ve seen what Tony Pulis makes his guys do out in Austria.

“This manager has his own philosophy, we work hard but his sessions are really organised and put over exactly how he wants us to play.

“I think that’s important, to implement it so early. The lads have been encouraged by it and hopefully the coaching staff have been encouraged by the way we’ve performed and the effort we’ve put in.”