Middlesbrough are confident they will win the race for Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun.
A number of Championship clubs, and some sides from abroad, have expressed an interest in signing Balogun on loan and Arsenal have agreed to let him leave.
The 20-year-old is assessing his options, but Middlesbrough are confident they will win the race for him after making a pitch.
The club’s boss, Chris Wilder, is a big fan of Balogun and tried to sign him when he was in charge of Sheffield United.
Another player due to head out on loan from Arsenal is Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who should wrap up his move to Roma over the weekend.
The Italian club are set to sign the midfielder on a straight loan deal, with no option to make it permanent in the summer.
“There’s no need to hide things about Maitland-Niles,” Roma general manager Tiago Pinto told DAZN.
“We’re talking with Arsenal and there’s some procedures that need to be taken care of over the coming hours, but I think it’s close.
“As for the rest, there’s many names being linked with us but I won’t say anything when there aren’t any important updates. It’s true regarding Maitland-Niles, right now it’s not the time to discuss the midfielders.”
Arsenal are back in action this weekend after having the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Liverpool on Thursday postponed.
They travel to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup and striker Eddie Nketiah could be back after missing the New Year’s Day defeat to Manchester City following a positive test for Covid-19.
Defender Sead Kolasinac is also back in training but he could leave the club on loan this month, with Fenerbahce one of the sides tracking him.
