Middlesbrough wants to sign Bradford City striker Charlie Wyke in this January transfer window. According to recent reports in the English media, the 25-year-old forward is attracting interest from a whole of English clubs which include the Boro. Wyke left the Riverside Stadium in the winter transfer window of 2015 and now Tony Pulis wants to bring him back to the club this month. He left his boyhood club after failing to break into their senior team, three years ago but has gone on to impress during his spells at Carlisle United and Bradford City.
The English forward has scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for the Bantams following his arrival at the Valley Parade for £250,000, just a year ago. Some sources have now claimed that Wyke’s impressive form this season has alerted a whole host of Championship clubs with Tony Pulis interested to bring him to Riverside Stadium to try and strengthen his attacking options going into the second half of the season.
Middlesbrough only has two players in their squad – Britt Assombalonga (12 goals) and Martin Braithwaite (6 goals) who has found the back of the net on more than three occasions for the club during this campaign. Hence, the potential arrival of Wyke could give them a much-needed boost in their quest to finish in a playoff spot this season.
Middlesbrough are currently in 8th place in the English Championship with a total tally of 44 points after 28 league matches. They are just two points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United who occupy the final playoff spot. The Boro has just managed to score 38 goals in the league so far so the potential arrival of Wyke will definitely bolster their options going forward and increase their chances of improving on that record in the coming months.
The 25-year-old forward has scored 12 goals and made 7 assists in 27 matches for Bradford City across all competitions in this campaign. The 6ft 1in centre-forward will not come cheap, however, with the Bradford manager Stuart McCall, claiming in an interview with Sky Sports recently that it would take a fee in the region of £5m to prise him away from West Yorkshire. The Boro can also boast three other forwards in their squad with Patrick Bamford, Rudy Gestede and Ashley Fletcher all waiting on the sidelines to be called upon.
It remains to be seen whether Middlesbrough are successful in their efforts to fend off stiff competition from Championship rivals in pursuit of Wyke’s services this month.
