Middlesbrough deal for Duncan Watmore might have to wait until international break, warns Neil Warnock

Neil Warnock thinks he will have to wait until the November international break before he can add Duncan Watmore to his Middlesbrough squad.
FREE AGENT: Duncan Watmore has been training with MiddlesbroughFREE AGENT: Duncan Watmore has been training with Middlesbrough
FREE AGENT: Duncan Watmore has been training with Middlesbrough

The former England Under-21 and Sunderland forward is currently training at Rockliffe after being released by the Black Cats in the summer, but Warnock says he is not prepared to offer a contract just yet because of the difficult financial climate. He hopes a short-term deal until January might be possible before Championship clubs return, on November 21.

Watmore, whose career has been held back by two cruciate knee ligament injuries, is the only free agent Warnock is currently looking at as he aims to beef up a squad particularly light on options at centre-forward with Ashley Fletcher not expected to play again this year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“At the moment I'm not prepared to sign anybody because of the circumstances but Duncan's aware of that and of how much I'm enjoying him training,” explained Warnock. “I'm hoping we can come to an agreement sooner rather than later but at the moment it's not possible.

“I'm hoping something might be sorted after the international break but as I've said before, what will be will be. We just have to get on with it if we can't.”

Before the international break Boro have matches at Brentford on Saturday, and at Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.

Warnock will assess the fitness of Dael Fry, who missed Saturday's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest but is not prepared to take any risks after the performance Nathan Wood put on in his place. Whoever plays, he has warned his defenders they will need to be on top of their games.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Their forward line are the top goalscorers in the league,” he warned. “(Adam) Armstrong's been superb and the other lad. Tony (Mowbray)'s got them firing on all cylinders. Yes, they lost on Saturday (to Swansea City) but they had the chances and goals change games.

“It's always hard at Blackburn, you never get anything given you there, but the lads are looking forward to it and not just Blackburn, they're looking for ward to every game at the moment and that's great for me.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.