Middlesbrough are said to be keen on pursuing US international Brandon Vazquez from MLS side FC Cincinatti.
Vazquez is a forward who has been in excellent form for his club, scoring 16 goals and getting 2 assists this season, helping his team to the top of the Eastern Conference League.
According to a report on the TEAMtalk website, the striker is unsurprisingly attracting a lot of interest, with Michael Carrick said to be eyeing up a move for the forward, but Boro are likely to face competition from a host of other European clubs.
Impressive stats
The 25-year-old has had enjoyed a couple of prolific seasons for his club and continues to impress for the US national side where he has hit the net 4 times in 8 appearances. His stats since joining FC Cincinatti in 2019 make for impressive reading, netting 42 times in 126 games, registering a goal every 3 games. Creatively he has made his mark too, managing 15 assists whilst at the club.
Boro have delved into the market for a US player in the past in Matthew Hoppe, but for whatever reason, it hasn’t quite worked out for striker, who is currently on loan with San Jose Earthquakes.
Boro find themselves very light in the striker department this season, with Josh Coburn-a player who was not expected to be first choice at the start of the season-the regular starter in the number nine role.
Josh has performed extremely well for a player who was destined to be sent out on loan to perfect his trade. Instead he is learning on the job as it were at his hometown club. But Boro must be careful with Coburn, they risk over-utilising the Richmond forward due to lack of other options. The only back-up for Josh is Ivorian, Emannuel Latte Lath, a player who is new to the league and himself something of a raw student of the game with plenty to learn.
Striker priority
The pair of forwards have shown plenty of promise, but with a return of just 5 Championship goals between them, it means that the club are likely to make the addition of a striker their main priority come January. Vazquez could be that extra firepower to make the difference.
Whilst explaining the impending January transfer strategy, Head of Football Kieran Scott did intimate that the club are ‘ready to go’ with their transfer plan for the window and conceded that a forward is always ‘a commodity that everyone wants’.
Despite his goals tally, the US international is unlikely to command an eye-watering fee, given that he is a player largely untested outside of the MLS League, which of course would make Boro all the more interested in a deal. It is reported that the player is open to a winter move to Europe, so the deal hinges on an agreement between the clubs involved.
Gone are the days where the club would throw around huge money at transfers. It appears that the club, instead of paying a premium for British-based players are exploring lots of different global markets, aside from the domestic scene. Fans have already seen evidence of that with the arrivals of Sami Silvera and Tom Glover from the A-League in Australia, and the likes of Lukas Engel who came from Danish side Silkeborg.
It is expected that Boro will be in the hunt for a striker and possibly a defender to bolster their options having seen another first team defender ruled out for the season in Darragh Lenihan, who joins right-back Tommy Smith on the sidelines.