Middlesbrough FC complete the signings of defender Lukas Engel and striker Emmanuel Latte Lath ahead of Championship game with Huddersfield Town – with Chuba Akpom close to joining Ajax
The Teessiders, whose limited squad depth has been exposed at the start of the campaign by way of two successive defeats, have confirmed the capture of Danish defender Lukas Engel.
The left-back has joined from Danish Superliga side Silkeborg on a four-year contract.
The fee is reportedly around €2m, with Engel’s addition bolstering a problem area for Boro, in need of a fresh option at left-back after missing out on the signing of Ryan Giles, who elected to head to Premier League side Luton Town.
Atalanta forward Emmanuel Latte Lath followed later on Tuesday afternoon – to further improve the options of head coach Michael Carrick.
Going out of the exit door will be last season’s star turn Chuba Akpom, who is putting the finishing touches to a €12m move to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, with over €2m of potential add-ons.
Akpom, whose existing contract at Boro was due to expire next summer, is poised to sign a five-year deal at Ajax. He was undergoing a medical on Tuesday.
Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens recently pulled out of the race to sign the 27-year-old, who was a revelation at Boro last season. His preferred destination was Ajax, while rumours of a bid from Sheffield United never materalised, despite interest.
Akpom’s loss will hopefully be mitigated by the arrival of Latte Lath, who impressed on loan at Swiss outfit St Gallen, notching 16 goals in 34 matches last term.
The Ivorian, 24, who offers a pacy option alongside a goal threat, has joined in a €5m move and will boost a Boro side who have yet to find the net at league level in 2023-24.
Both Boro and Huddersfield are yet to take a point this season following consecutive defeats.
READ MORE
It was a bittersweet night for the Middlesbrough loanee and the Reds on Tuesday with the hosts relinquishing a hard-fought 1-0 advantage in the final quarter against a relentless Peterborough United side who went onto triumph 3-1 at Oakwell.
Collins proved the main bulwark to free-flowing Posh scoring earlier, making some excellent saves, including an outstanding one to somehow keep out Jonson Clarke-Harris’s header.
The striker did have the last laugh by netting soon after when Roberts coughed up possession in the lead-up to the visitors second goal.
But the overall performance of the custodian, who has joined the Reds on a second-long loan and is effectively playing for a longer-term deal somewhere with his contract at Boro expiring next summer and unlikely to be renewed, left a favourable impression upon Collins.
“Both keepers made top saves, although I think Liam will be disappointed with the second goal as I thought it was a poor decision to play out (from the back).
“But that is part of it with these guys in terms of learning from it. He is going to be huge for us.”
Collins confirmed that Barnsley are ‘getting to the bottom’ of the illness which is keeping key midfielder Luca Connell out of first-team contention – but admits progress is slow.
On his progress, Collins added: “Very, very slowly. (But) We are getting to the bottom of his illness now. He is again a person who we look at and are slightly missing.”
Leave a Reply