Middlesbrough: £5m Tommy Conway deal would provide ideal Latte Lath foil: View | OneFootball

Boro are reportedly close to agreeing a deal for the Bristol City striker.

Middlesbrough are reportedly closing in on the signing of Bristol City striker Tommy Conway, after it appears that the Scotland international has made it known that he would prefer a move to Teesside this summer.

That comes after Hull City vice chief executive Tan Kesler told BBC Humberside via The Northern Echo over the weekend: "We were interested in Tommy. I'm not going to lie, we jumped in late. But they went out and spoke to Middlesbrough, Leeds and I believe Sheffield came in at some point.

"He found positive communication with Michael Carrick I believe and is leaning more towards Middlesbrough." Boro have submitted a 'heavily incentivised' bid worth up to £5m for the Scotland international.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed via X on Saturday that Boro were in advanced talks with the Robins over a deal for Conway, with a four-year contract being discussed, whilst reiterating that he has a clear preference for a move to the North East.

A centre-forward addition has long been on the transfer agenda at the Riverside Stadium this summer, and the arrival of Conway would provide Carrick with a crucial piece of cover for their striking superstar Emmanuel Latte Lath.

Conway would ensure 2023/24 issue isn't repeated

For any side gunning for promotion, having two quality options in every position goes a long way to ensuring the season doesn't come off the rails when the inevitability of injuries and suspensions begin to occur.

This was something Middlesbrough discovered to their detriment last term, with Carrick's squad being decimated by injuries - the size of which was fairly unprecedented in recent memory.

Boro quickly discovered that they didn't have round pegs to place in round holes, with players having to be played out of position just to ensure Boro could field some form of a starting lineup.

Nowhere more was the drop-off in quality more noticeable than up-front, as Latte Lath made 30 Championship appearances last season, leaving the likes of Josh Coburn, Sam Greenwood and Sammy Silvera all being asked to lead the line in his absence.

Needless to say, none of those three really staked their claim, with Silvera bagging three goals in Latte Lath's absence, whilst Coburn scored twice and Greenwood just once respectively.

That sent a clear message to Carrick and Middlesbrough's head of football Kieran Scott that further upgrades behind Boro's number nine would likely be needed this summer, in the event their main man misses a similar amount of time in 2024/25.

As such, bringing in a player such as Conway who, at just 22, has already made over 80 Championship appearances and is a full Scotland international, would appear to fit that bill perfectly.

Boro could form two-headed striking monster

Deadly goalscoring duos have fired teams into the Premier League many times over the years, with Southampton's Adam Armstrong and Che Adams being the most recent example from last season, and Middlesbrough could follow suit.

In Conway, Boro would find a player that has proven himself to be a reliable source of goals in just his first two full seasons as an established first team player at Ashton Gate, with his performances last season being enough for Steve Clarke to draft him into Scotland's Euro 2024 squad.

The young forward didn't see action in Germany, but it speaks to his level of talent that he was included, whilst Premier League sides such as Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Wolves as well as Celtic and Rangers were all credited with interest in him this year.

As such, fending off top-flight interest and adding him to their forward ranks would have to be seen as a major coup for Boro, and would place Carrick's squad in a much better position in regard to strength in depth moving forward.

Interest in Latte Lath will only grow should he keep finding the back of the net too, and as such, Conway could be a vital piece of recruitment to ensure that Middlesbrough have a quality safety blanket to fall back on, if indeed keeping hold of Latte Lath becomes impossible.