Britt Assombalonga joined Middlesbrough from Nottingham Forest back in 2017.
Middlesbrough have been blessed with some truly top strikers throughout their history.
Whether it be Jimmy Floyd Hasslebank, Mark Viduka or even Brian Clough, the Boro supporters have been treated to some great goalscorers.
There have also been some flops along the way though with the likes of Lee Dong-Gook and Lee Miller failing to provide the goods on Teesside.
One former Middlesbrough player who sits slap-bang in the middle of those two categories is Britt Assombalonga.
Britt Assombalonga Middlesbrough career
Following an impressive stint at Nottingham Forest in which he scored 30 goals in 69 appearances, Assombalonga was signed by Middlesbrough for a club-record fee of £15 million.
Expected to fire the Boro to the Premier League, the Congolese forward started brightly under then-manager Gary Monk, scoring twelve goals before the turn of the year.
Monk however would be sacked in December 2017, replaced by veteran coach Tony Pulis – an appointment that would eventually lead to the downfall of Assombalonga’s Boro career.
Following Pulis’ arrival, Assombalonga would see his playing minutes dwindle with the former Stoke boss preferring the likes of Rudy Gestede.
Pulis would eventually be let go at the end of the 18/19 season, replaced by former Boro defender Jonathan Woodgate.
Assombalonga’s time under Woodgate however would be plagued by persistent ankle injuries as the Teessiders fell down the Championship table.
With Middlesbrough sat dangerously close to the relegation zone, Woodgate would be replaced by Neil Warnock following the resumption of football after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Middlesbrough would survive but Warnock’s appointment virtually spelled the end of Assombolonga’s time at the Riverside – eventually leaving the club in April 2021 after Boro failed to offer the striker a new deal.
What did Assombalonga say about Tony Pulis?
Following his Teesside departure, Assombalonga appeared The Beautiful Game Podcast in 2023, reflecting on his time at Boro:
“The first six months were so enjoyable under Gary Monk and obviously, with football, managers get sacked and everything changes. We went from real attacking football and we then went to a whole different aspect of playing, ultimately two different styles of play.”
The ex-Boro man also opened up about his fractious relationship with former boss Tony Pulis
“Tony Pulis came in and spoke to me, trying to show his authority. I had never met the guy before. He pulled me for a chat and said ‘Everyone talks about you and tells me you’re a raging bull, but all I see is a raging pussy cat’ Then I said ‘What? Where have you got that from” he then said, “I just don’t think you’ve got it.”
“He then said I am free to go…I was then on the bench for the next twenty games”
Assombalonga also went on to reveal that the pair nearly came to blows once during a pre-season training session:
“We would sometimes clash. We were out in Austria on a pre-season tour and we were doing a crossing and finishing drill. I sprayed the ball eight times right on the money, I then did one bad one that went wayward and he then stopped the session saying ‘We paid £15 million for you?’, I was going to go fight him after that.”