According to rumours, Middlesbrough has expressed interest in three players: Callum Brittain, Pavel Sulc, and Sontje Hansen.
In preparation for the next Championship season, new manager Rob Edwards is presently taking Boro through their preseason drills in Portugal. Top tier clubs in England and elsewhere are apparently showing increasing interest in Hayden Hackney, although attention is still largely on possible newcomers at the Riverside.
Hansen is a Dutch forward, the 23-year-old plays for Eredivisie club NEC and is also reported to be of interest to Championship new boys Wrexham. He is an ex-Ajax youth and Holland Under-21 star. Meanwhile, Sulc is a Czech Republic international, the 12-cap 24-year-old is an attacking midfielder and he currently plays for Viktoria Plzeň.
Brittain, meanwhile, is a right-back – a key area for Boro to strengthen this summer – the experienced 27-year-old currently plays for Blackburn Rovers and Wrexham are also said to be interested in the defender.
What has Boro boss Rob Edwards previously said about transfer business?
Speaking to the Northern Echo in June, Edwards said: “Of course we want to keep our best players, but what I would say is that there’s always a plan. It would have to be a decision made by the people above, but if we deemed it the right decision for someone to go, then I don’t think that needs to be seen as a worry or a negative. We’ve got to then see that as an opportunity to improve.”
Edwards added: “I think if they’re the right player and the right fit, then to me it doesn’t really matter whether they’re 32 or 22. That being said, football is still a business, and the way we want to play, you’ve got to be athletic. You’ve got to be able to run.
“That probably matches a bit more with the 22 or 23-year-olds than maybe the older ones. I don’t want to label that at everyone, because if they’re the right person and the right player, and we think they can help us, then it kind of doesn’t matter on the age. But for a business and how you really need to be in this day and age, then I think it makes complete sense to be working with younger players.
“If you look at the three of us that have come in, our background has largely been around working with younger players, some of the best youth players in the world. We’ve shown we can help develop them, so that’s pretty exciting as well.”
Aitor Karanka, the former manager of Middlesbrough, has been promoted to the position of technical director of the Spanish Football Federation.
In his current position, Karanka is in charge of managing the Federation’s youth setup at the many representative levels as well as the senior Spain national team. Additionally, he will collaborate with Luis de la Fuente, the manager of Spain, before to the World Cup finals in North America.
