Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Championship

Middlesbrough fail in quest for free agents after injury list heightens

Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock. Neil Warnock has a long list of injuries for the home game against Peterborough.

Middlesbrough have hit a brick wall in trying to sign an unnamed free agent during the international break, per a report.

Boro boss Neil Warnock admits negotiations had taken place over the break but no deals could be finalised. The Championship club are desperate to increase their squad depth, especially in defensive areas after injuries to Grant Hall, Dael Fry, Anfernee Dijksteel and most recently, Marc Bola has left them short at the back.

A key reason why the club couldn’t get one deal over the line was due to financial reasons. 

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Warnock said: “We were hoping to get one or two free agents in but we weren’t able to.

“We couldn’t quite financially agree a deal with one.”

It’s a big disappointment for Warnock’s men,  but the manager has insisted they’ll keep looking for more options.

“We’re still looking at the Bosman rule to see if we can tempt anyone to come and train for a week or 10 days because we might need them in November or December, that’s what we are looking at,” said Warnock.

“If somebody cropped up who we thought was fit enough, we’d consider it if it fitted into our wage structure.”

Middlesbrough face strugglers Peterborough on Saturday, hoping to respond to their 2-0 loss against Hull before the break.

Warnock will also be without veteran defender Lee Peltier for the encounter after picking up five yellow cards.


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Bola adds to Middlesbrough injury crisis

The Englishman picked up a fresh injury ahead of Middlesbrough’s clash against Peterborough on Saturday.

Bola withdrew from training on Thursday after struggling with a continuous pain he picked up against Blackburn.

“It’s strange when you don’t know what your team is on a Thursday night when you’ve had two weeks to prepare,” Warnock admitted.

Warnock had to rip up his team for Saturday’s game after finding out about his left-back’s injury.

“Only knowing yesterday that Bola wouldn’t be fit hasn’t really helped.

But that’s how it goes and we’ve just got to get on with it.”

READ MORE: Warnock addresses reports linking Robbie Brady to Middlesbrough