Middlesbrough face a battle to keep hold of one of their key players ahead of the 11pm deadline tonight.
After losing Chuba Akpom to Ajax in the summer of 2023, Middlesbrough had a big void at the top of their attack.
However, thanks to the improved scouting at the club since the arrival of Kieran Scott, the Teessiders found an adequate replacement very quickly.
Emmanuel Latte Lath joined Boro from Serie A outfit Atalanta BC in August of last year for around £4.4m.
The Ivorian struggled to get up to speed in the early stages of 2023/24 but enjoyed a prolific end to the campaign.
Latte Lath netted 16 and assisted one in 30 Championship matches last term, including scoring 11 in his last 12 league fixtures.
This impressive form was bound to attract interest in the current transfer window, which it did earlier this month.
Premier League club eye Emmanuel Latte Lath
Wolverhampton Wanderers, RB Salbruzg and AS Monaco were all linked with Latte Lath earlier in August.
After said interest, Boro News learned that it would take a bid over £20m for Middlesbrough to sell Latte Lath.
The trio’s interest in the striker has since died down but a new club are now being linked on deadline day.
As per the Daily Mail, Ipswich Town are eyeing a move for the Middlesbrough striker, who they see as a potential alternative to Chelsea’s Armando Broja.
Losing Latte Lath, who pundit Phil Spencer dubbed ‘clinical’ earlier this year, would be a major blow for Boro.
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Can Middlesbrough afford to sell Emmanuel Latte Lath to Ipswich Town
Netting over £20m for one player is quite the achievement for a Championship club.
And with Middlesbrough now much better at signing players, the club would probably back themselves to bring in a quality replacement for Latte Lath, just as they did with Akpom.
However, with just over 12 hours of the window to go, there are unlikely to be too many top strikers available to the North East outfit.
Carrick currently has Tommy Conway and Josh Coburn as backups to the Ipswich-linked star, while Delano Burgzorg can play as a centre-forward if required.
Conway scored 10 league goals for a weak Bristol City last season so it is possible he can match Latte Lath’s goal threat if Middlesbrough sell.
But Boro fans are no doubt hoping it does not come to that and their top scorer from 2023/24 stays put.