FULHAM have captured Israeli winger Manor Solomon boosting Middlesbrough’s hopes that they can push through a loan deal for their Brazilian striker Rodrigo Muniz.
The 21-year-old, who was a target for Boro last summer before deciding to move to Craven Cottage from Flamengo, is awaiting the green light on a move to Teesside with Fulham keen to add to their attacking ranks before they sanction the move.
However, Solomon’s move to West London was confirmed after FIFA allowed him to suspend his contract with Shaktar Donetsk. FIFA ruled that foreign players would be allowed to suspend their contracts due to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The Israeli has joined on a contract until June 2023 but cannot be registered until 1st August.
Solomon can play as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. Now that Marco Silva has added to his attacking options, Boro can feel optimistic that a deal for Muniz can be struck ahead of the season.
Boro are thin on attacking options with Duncan Watmore and Josh Coburn to choose from while manager Chris Wilder has offered a lifeline to Chuba Akpom, who returned to first-team training with the squad recently. He also came on as a second half substitute during their 2-0 pre-season win over Marseille last Friday.
Muniz, who plays as a centre forward, would give Wilder some much needed depth up front where he will be hoping to add some much needed potency in front of goal. Muniz made just two starts for the Cottagers last season but scored five goals in 25 appearances in his first season in English football. The striker is also fuelling speculation on his move to Teesside through his social media activity which has escaped a number of eagle-eyed Boro fans as he continues to like posts surrounding his potential switch to the North-East.
Boro’s goalscoring problems were laid bare last season with Andraz Sporar, Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun all failing to hit the heights the manager had hoped for. The club have been long term admirers of Muniz having attempted to orchestrate a deal last summer and will be hoping to see their faith in the 21-year-old rewarded should a deal go through for this season.
Boro begin their Championship campaign on Saturday evening against West Brom where they play in a 17:30pm kick-off at the Riverside Stadium.
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