Why Wes Burns could be a smart signing for Middlesbrough
According to The Sun (10 November, Page 59), Middlesbrough have been credited with an interest in Fleetwood Town attacker Wes Burns, who has impressed for Joey Barton’s side in the League One this season.
Middlesbrough currently find themselves languishing in the relegation zone, following their woeful run of form in the first quarter of the campaign under new manager Jonathan Woodgate.
Boro are third-bottom in the standings after accumulating only two victories from 16 league fixtures so far.
Returns of just 13 goals in 16 games clearly epitomize the need to bring in some attacking reinforcements when the transfer window reopens in January.
However, the club’s precarious position in the standings, coupled with their problematic financial scenario, means that quality additions might be hard to come by.
To that end, Boro need to look for some handy low-cost signings during the mid-season trading period in a bid to add some much-needed firepower to their attack. Fleetwood Town’s Wes Burns could prove to be a smart acquisition at a reasonable price.
The 24-year-old Cardiff-born wide attacker rose through the youth ranks of Bristol City but he struggled to establish himself at his boyhood club.
He spent time on loan at Forest Green Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Oxford United, Fleetwood Town, as well as north of the border at Aberdeen, before eventually completing a permanent transfer to Fleetwood in 2017.
Burns has made a total of 125 appearances for the Fishermen across all competitions till date, scoring 18 goals and setting up a further 13.
The left-footed former Welsh U21 international has been used in multiple positions, with Barton often deploying him as a full-back and a central midfielder.
As per whoscored, Wes Burns excels with his dribbling and creativity as a right-sided wide player, averaging 1.3 dribbles and 1.7 key passes per game in the League One this season. The 24-year-old is yet to find the net in Fleetwood’s league campaign so far but he has managed to chip in with 5 assists in 15 appearances.
Middlesbrough have found themselves bereft of ideas in the final third more often than not, with creative players like Ashley Fletcher, Marvin Johnson, Marcus Tavernier and Marcus Browne failing to live up to the expectations.
Verdict
Since Britt Assombalonga is also not firing on all cylinders, making it difficult for the club to retain a solid goalscoring rate.
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With lack of goals threatening to ruin their campaign, Woodgate needs to find a way to work with whatever backing he gets from the investors.