MIDDLESBROUGH will not be increasing the size of their wage bill this month, with Tony Pulis admitting the club’s transfer policy has to reflect the possibility of a dramatic drop in income next season if promotion is not secured.

Pulis is keen to add to his squad before next Thursday’s transfer deadline, with Rajiv van La Parra the only player to have moved to the Riverside this month, but the reality of Boro’s current financial position is restricting his ability to make the signings he would like.

Last summer, Boro were awarded £34.9m as a parachute payment from the Premier League, but whereas clubs previously received payments spread over three years, a change to the regulations means the Teessiders have already been given their full allocation of funds.

The absence of any parachute payments this summer will leave a big hole in their budget if they fail to win promotion to the Premier League, and while Steve Gibson remains determined to do all he can to aid his club’s promotion push, the wage bill at the end of the season has to be sustainable in all eventualities.

Martin Braithwaite’s loan move to Leganes has eased some of the pressure on the current wage bill, but with no clause in place for an automatic transfer, the Danish forward could return to Teesside in the summer.

The ongoing impasse over Stewart Downing’s contract reflects a desire to keep wage commitments under control, and while the midfielder is due to meet senior officials this week in an attempt to find a compromise to the current situation, which sees Pulis unable to name him in the starting line-up for league matches in order to avoid triggering an automatic one-year contract extension, the 34-year-old will not be offered a new deal on his current terms.

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Similarly, while Pulis has been told he can add to the squad this month, he is having to work within strict financial parameters. The Boro boss would like to sign another wide attacker and a left-back as a minimum, but his attempts to make a breakthrough in the last couple of weeks have proved unsuccessful.

“This is my third window, and every window, including this one, we’re in profit,” said Pulis. “If we can get players, we will. But if we can’t, we can’t, and we’ll just have to get on with what we’ve got and make the best of it.

“I think that’s an important message to everybody – that’s just the way it is. The club has thrown a hell of a lot of money at getting promoted. They tried to go straight back up on the bounce, but it didn’t work. I’m talking about a lot of money, an extraordinary amount, and that’s how it is.

“We’ve had three windows – at the moment we’re in profit in this one too – and so it’s a case of seeing what we can do. If we can do something, great. But it has to be the right player, and it has to be the right deal for this football club because next year, the money drops again.”

There would be more room for manoeuvre if three or four high-earning players were to leave, and Boro are willing to listen to offers for a number of their fringe performers. Grant Leadbitter has not made a Championship appearance since mid-August, and both Ashley Fletcher and Rudy Gestede have been peripheral presences despite Boro’s lack of success in the final third.

Britt Assombalonga scored his ninth goal of the season in the recent 2-1 win at Birmingham, but Pulis would be willing to sell Boro’s record signing if it enabled him to bring in a new striker, more attuned to his preferred style of attacking play.

All four players could leave before next Thursday, but their wages will make it difficult for Championship clubs to put together an acceptable financial package to sign them. None are expected to attract interest from the Premier League.