KIM Hellberg believes he has the attacking armoury to keep the opposition guessing as Middlesbrough prepare for the Championship kick-off on the back of an impressive summer of recruitment.
Boro's transfer business is not yet complete, with club officials still looking to add a centre-half, a midfielder and a wide attacker to the ranks ahead of the deadline.
Ashley Phillips looked set to join at the end of last week but that deal was placed on pause.
Rennes midfielder Jordan James was linked over the weekend, and while the 22-year-old is a player who's admired at Boro and was discussed, it quickly became apparent any deal would be far too expensive. He now looks set to join Wolves.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Boro absence explained amid mounting transfer speculation over midfielder
- Kim Hellberg hints at transfer decision U-turn over versatile member of Boro squad
Hellberg's squad has been strengthened by the arrivals of Will Lankshear, Kyle Joseph Sebastian Berhalter, Max Arfsten, Radek Vitek and Myles Peart-Harris.
Boro came agonisingly close to winning promotion last season, losing in the play-off final at Wembley, but their hopes of finishing in the top two had slipped away after a string of frustrating dropped points at the Riverside against sides struggling at the bottom end of the division.
Boro dominated games but couldn't make their superiority count, scoring just two goals and picking up only three points from home games against relegated duo Oxford and Leicester as well as Charlton, Bristol City and Portsmouth.
With that in mind, it was no surprise to see a new No.9 prioritised this summer and Boro were delighted to land leading target Lankshear, who got off to a dream start when he scored the winner against Wrexham in the Carabao Cup first round last Friday night.
Hellberg believes Lankshear adds another dimension to Boro's attack and says his qualities give his side crucial flexibility in their attacking approach.
"Signing Will gives us a dynamic in the box that’s different, but it's not that we change everything," said Boro's head coach.
"It's similar principles, but connected to what player arrive and what qualities they have.
"Will is more of a striker in the box which means you can put more balls higher into the box, whereas we maybe didn't have those types of players last year.
"It's always about trying to find the ways with the players you have to try to score as many goals as possible. I think that's been good."
Joseph has missed a chunk of pre-season because of an ankle injury suffered in Hull's play-off semi-final victory over Millwall, but the forward is understood to have quickly made a big impression on Hellberg, the coaching staff and his new teammates since joining training.
The 24-year-old made an impact with an encouraging showing from the bench against Wrexham and Hellberg must now decide whether he's ready to start against Lincoln on Saturday. David Strelec also started pre-season well before having his momentum halted by a minor but frustrating injury setback.
Hellberg said: "I'm looking forward to seeing how much we can improve during the rest of the season.
"That will be a key for us because of a lot of players coming in, coming back, and doing that quite late."
Share