MIDDLESBROUGH are hoping to get the green light to sign Rodrigo Muniz from Fulham this week, although Cottagers boss Marco Silva will only allow the striker to leave once he has secured an attacking signing of his own.

With Josh Coburn and Duncan Watmore currently Boro’s only senior strikers, along with Chuba Akpom, who made a surprise return to the squad for Friday’s friendly win over Marseille, Chris Wilder is desperate to strengthen his attacking ranks ahead of Saturday’s season-opener with West Brom.

He has made loan offers for three different Premier League forwards, one of which is understood to be Muniz, who is set to leave Fulham this summer.

The Brazilian came close to joining Boro when Neil Warnock was manager 12 months ago, but while the Teessiders’ hierarchy held a series of discussions to try to land the forward, he opted to head to Fulham rather than move to Teesside.

Things did not really go to plan for him at Craven Cottage last season, as he made just two league starts as Fulham won the Championship title, as well as 23 substitute appearances.

He weighed in with five league goals, but his efforts were overshadowed by Aleksandar Mitrovic and he does not form part of Silva’s plans for his side’s return to the Premier League next month.

Boro are keen to sign Muniz on a season-long loan, and with the South American aware of the Teessiders’ interest and understood to be keen to move to the Riverside, a deal is potentially imminent.

The sticking point is that Silva wants a new attacker of his own before he sanctions Muniz’s exit, and as seems to be the case throughout the leagues at the moment, progress in the transfer market remains slow.

Fulham are in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over winger Manor Solomon, and have also been heavily linked with a move for Burnley’s Maxwell Cornet, but were unable to seal a deal for either player last week.

As a result, Boro’s recruitment team are having to wait for the green light to bring Muniz to Teesside for a medical.

“I’ve talked a lot about players coming to the football club, and it’s a slow market,” admitted Wilder. “In an ideal world, I’d have liked to have got more players in by this stage so myself and the coaching staff could have worked with them more.

“But if you come into Rockliffe, you’ll understand the amount of work that’s going into adding to what’s a decent bunch. We’ve got a good base to work from.”

Boro have inquired about the possible availability of Southampton’s Adam Armstrong, and have also held talks over Aston Villa’s Cameron Archer and Tottenham’s Troy Parrott as they look to strengthen their squad.