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- - Sport - Football - Middlesbrough FC Transfer News Middlesbrough transfer news LIVE: Ashley Phillips latest after deal paused, Jordan James linked The latest Middlesbrough transfer news as they continue efforts to strengthen their squad after Radek Vitek's arrival Middlesbrough's efforts to strengthen their squad for the new season continue, with six new faces arriving so far this summer. Radek Vitek's move from Manchester United was confirmed on Saturday, as Boro's ambitious summer transfer window continues. However, there has been a hitch in their attempts to sign defender Ashley Phillips from Tottenham, as a last-minute snag has caused that deal to be put on pause. Boro still want to add a winger and midfielder if possible, while there is a need to get more players moving in the opposite direction after Delano Burgzorg and Kaly Sene left last week. We'll be here throughout the week, building up to that first Championship game against Lincoln City on Saturday, with all the latest transfer news. Key Events Reported that the midfielder, who is a free agent, is attracting interest from a number of Championship and even some Premier League clubs. He had one loan spell at Stoke City where he was a standout against Boro. Later, Boro even looked into signing him from Southampton in January 2025 but he turned down the move to try and battle for minutes with the Saints when they were still in the Premier League. Last season he joined Millwall on loan but suffered from injuries and made only ten appearances. He was then released by Southampton. Boro need a midfielder, and we know in the past they did like Smallbone. But, given the injury record, it would be a risk. It ended 10-0 to Boro's U21s. Frankie Coulson ended the game with four goals and an assist... They've just made it 9-0! Frankie Coulson, a Hartlepool native, just completed his hat-trick. It is worth noting that Hartlepool are largely playing youngsters and fringe players. They subbed off four players in the first minute of the match who they presumably started to comply with competition rules around team selections. Going well at Hartlepool. They were 3-0 at half-time and now, seven minutes after the restart, have gone 5-0 up. Boro will need a new captain after the exits of Hackney and Fry. Ayling has worn the armband for most of pre-season, though Hellberg said he hadn't made a final decision when asked after Espanyol - Kalvin Phillips is on the verge of rejoining Sheffield United - West Brom have signed French midfielder Rabby Nzingoula from Nurnberg - Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie has joined Bolton on a season-long loan - Watford are closing in on the signing of Bradford City goalkeeper Sam Walker - Burnley are showing interest in OH Leuven goalkeeper Tobe Leysen They're playing Hartlepool this afternoon in their first National League Cup game of the season. They've raced into a two-goal lead too, with goals from Frankie Coulson and Layton Campbell. The line up is: Foster, Martin, Woolston, Wilson, Smith, Greenup, James, Cole, Rigge, Coulson, Campbell Subs: Tika-Lemba, Logan Edmundson, Kakai, Bernard, Harrison, Johnson, Parker As expected, Radek Vitek has been given the number one jersey at Boro. This picture from today's training session... Boro posting plenty of shots from training today. That includes a recent post outlining that their US stars are ready for action. Unfortuantely, only two pictures were included in that post - Berhalter and Arfsten, but no Aidan Morris. It was hoped Morris would be back in training this week after missing the Wrexham game through injury. It could be that Boro are delibrately keeping Morris out of pictures to keep Lincoln guessing. But it'd certainly be a blow if he's not fit for Saturday. He was absent from the squad altogether on Friday evening. Kim Hellberg was asked after and revealed that he instead played earlier that day for the U21s against Sheff Utd because the decision was made for him to play close to 90 for them, instead of five minutes against Wrexham. While Hellberg wouldn't completely close the door on his Boro career, it is understood that the club are open to selling the 24-year-old this summer. Boro players looking happy and ready to go as they start another day of training, preparing for the Lincoln City opener Shea Charles has completed a move from Southampton to Fulham. The 22-year-old midfielder moves for a fee which is said to be £26m with potential for £4m more in add-ons. Charles had one year left on his Saints deal but there was an extension clause, meaning he technically had two years. Back for another day of transfer news and gossip. As and when there's news to bring you, we'll give it to you right here. For those interested, we're live blogging the Carabao Cup second round draw. Should any new transfer updates emerge, this will be the place for them. But if you want to follow on live as Boro find out their Carabao Cup second round opponents, you can do so here. Draw is in roughly 20 minutes. Derby County were in the process of being taking over by a consortium led by Saudi billionaire and boxing magnate Turki Alalshikh. But a statement from the club in the last half hour read: "CLUB STATEMENT: The club can confirm discussions with Lion Sport to buy a controlling interest in Derby County will no longer proceed. "The purchase process had been sanctioned by both the Independent Football Regulator and the EFL, notification of which the club received last week. "However, today the club received notice that Lion Sport no longer wanted to continue with the purchase. "For the benefit of any doubt, the club is now off the market and will continue to operate under the loyal, committed and unwavering support of Clowes Developments. "Our preparations continue for the new EFL season, beginning against Charlton Athletic on Saturday. The club will offer no further comment." “We are delighted to have added Finley to our ranks, providing further quality to our back line ahead of the league campaign kicking off this weekend. “He is someone who has undoubted quality and is keen to progress even further here at Bloomfield Road. "I believe he will be a key player for us on the left-hand side of our team and I can’t wait to start working with him.” On joining Blackpool, Munroe said: “I’ve had some really positive discussions with the gaffer. "The way he wants to play and the ambitions he has for this season really attracted me to the Club. I think it’s a good fit for me.” The young left-back has joined Blackpool on loan for the rest of the season. The former Boro midfielder, who spent last season at Bristol City, has joined Tony Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers. Asked about it on Saturday, Mogga said he wanted what he calls 'a man' in the team. We all no doubt remember what a soldier Morsy when playing for Boro, so we can all understand what Mogga's getting at that. - Wrexham are close to signing Anthony Patterson sfter agreeing an £8m deal with Sunderland - Swansea have rejected a bid from Hull City for striker Zan Vipotnik. He top scored for the Swans last season - West Ham have had a bid for Troy Parrott rejected by AZ Alkmaar. They are, however, close to signing Manor Solomon from Tottenham - West Ham are also said to be interested in signing Jamie Vardy In his first club interview, the GK said: “I think the project, everyone backing the club, you can see the ambition. What I liked about Boro's interest is that they were straight and I was always their main target, so that's what convinced me. “The ambition is clear - to get to the Premier League. Everyone at the club has the mindset for that. I want the same thing. I want to go to the best league in the world. “I got a good impression [last season]. Big stadium, good fans. It was when Boro were chasing promotion and they were pushing all game. It was an amazing game and I hope the stadium will be the same, or even better this season. “It's great [to make a permanent move]. As I said, it's something different but I hope I've chosen the right club for my future. “I love to play. That's why I'm here as well. I had the opportunity to stay [at Man Utd] and challenge for No.1 but I want to go and be the main goalkeeper. “It's a tough league, loads of games, but that's why I love it. Hopefully we can get to the level where we want to be - the Premier League.” The EFL have confirmed details of the Carabao Cup draw for this evening. Still regionalised, Boro will be in the Northern section. Everton, Hull, Leeds and Nottingham Forest and Newcastle are the Premier League sides added to Boro's side of the draw. Ball numbers - Barnsley - Blackburn - Blackpool - Bradford - Burnley - Crewe - Doncaster - Everton - Fleetwood - Hull - Leeds - Lincoln - Boro - Newcastle - Nottingham Forest - Preston - Sheffield United - Sheffield Wednesday - Shrewsbury - Stoke - West Brom - Wolves We'll be hosting a seperate live blog later this evening where the focus will be entirely on the cup draw. One new transfer link over the weekend. Boro were credited with interest in Rennes midfielder Jordan James. He came through the academy ranks at Birmingham and spent last season on loan at Leicester City. The 22-year-old has already been capped 26 times by Wales too. James is expected to make a return to England this summer, but Rennes are said to be only entertaining a transfer at this point, with a suggested asking price of £10m. Boro were linked, along with Burnley, Wolves and West Ham. Stiff competition then! We checked that one out and were told he is a player Boro would love to sign, but the price of the deal, everything included, could make it difficult. Boro have spent big so far this summer, but will struggle to compete with the kind of wages that the other three sides can offer. As we reported a couple of weeks back, Finley Munroe's proposed loan move to Blackpool was also put on hold, after the young left-back suffered an injury in pre-season. It was always hoped that the injury would not be serious and that Munroe would, later in the window, still make that temporary switch to Bloomfield Road. They, understandably, wanted to just make sure his recovery went well. It is now reported by Football Insider that the deal is back on and he is in Blackpool today to complete his medical and make the switch. It will be a season-long loan. As emerged last night, the deal that was expected to see Ashley Phillips join Boro has been paused. As it stands, we've got no information on why, with sources all tight-lipped on what exactly has happened to cause the two clubs to put the deal on hold. A deal had been agreed worth an initial £7m, and Phillips had travelled to Teesside to complete the move, which was expected to be announced over the weekend. The Mail are reporting that there has been an issue found in Phillips' medicaly, and say Boro are therefore trying to re-negotiate with Spurs, with potential for a loan, which includes an obligation being explored instead. At this stage though, it must be stressed that is gossip and not something that our sources have verified. What we have been told is that the deal, at this stage is not off, but just on pause. We'll await further details/developments on that one. Hello and welcome to this week's live transfer news blog. Boro completed the signing of Radek Vitek over the weekend. But all not as seamless with the deal to sign Ashley Phillips. We'll be following developments on that front, as well as other transfer news and gossip surrounding Boro, with a bit of Championship news thrown in.