Middlesbrough have signed Martin Braithwaite from Toulouse as the player has put pen to paper on a four-year contract. The attacker is the third signing of this summer and Monk would be delighted having roped in the striker from the French side.
The Dane will now board a flight to Portugal where Garry Monk is busy guiding the players through rigorous practice sessions. The Player arrived at the Rockliffe training ground to undergo his medical and underwent the remaining part of the formalities to complete the transfer.
The Danish forward is the third most expensive signing in the club history after Afonso Alves and Martin de Roon. This is the third acquisition of Boro after they brought in Jonny Howson and Cyrus Christie a few days ago.
Despite getting demoted down to the Championship, chairman Steve Gibson has promised he would leave no stone unturned to bring back the club to the top tier after a very difficult last season. The Teessiders parted ways with Aitor Karanka and appointed ex-Leeds United manager Monk to bring some much-needed positivity to the Riverside Stadium.
The details of the deal haven’t been disclosed but according to reports, Boro shelled out a fee of £9m to bring the player to England. There was stiff competition for the signature of player as a host of clubs were courting him. Boro had to toil hard and the club’s ambition and philosophy were probably the big reasons behind the success of this deal.
The 26-year old is predominantly a centre-forward but can be stationed anywhere across the front three. The striker found the back of the net 11 times last season and if he can continue his goal scoring spree, Boro have a realistic chance next season.
Lack of a potential goal scoring forward was the main reason behind Boro’s downfall as they were struggling to convert the opportunities.
Alvaro Negredo has returned to Valencia after his loan spell with the Teessiders and Monk knew that if the side had converted half of those opportunities, the present situation could have been different.
The Denmark international also has 16 caps for his country and is expected to share the responsibility with Rudy Gestede. He sounded delighted having penned down a deal with the club. “I’m really excited to be here. I can’t wait to get started.
“For me, the main thing is the project here. I met the chairman and the coach, and everyone really wanted me.”
