Patrick Bamford in Middlesbrough for medical ahead of £6m move from Chelsea

Patrick Bamford was on Teesside on Tuesday evening as Middlesbrough looked to push home their interest in him.
Patrick Bamford during his previous loan spell at Middlesbrough.Patrick Bamford during his previous loan spell at Middlesbrough.
Patrick Bamford during his previous loan spell at Middlesbrough.

Press Association Sport understands the 23-year-old Chelsea striker has travelled north to undergo a medical just days after being recalled from his loan spell at Burnley with Boro close to completing a deal which it is thought will cost them an initial £6million.

The development came on what proved to be an eventful day for the club as it emerged that the Blues in turn have expressed an interest in 20-year-old winger Adama Traore, who arrived at the Riverside Stadium from Aston Villa in August last year.

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That is yet to amount to a formal bid, but should one eventually arrive, that would leave the club with a decision to make.

In addition, full-back Emilio Nsue is being targeted by Sky Bet Championship Birmingham and sources on Teesside have indicated that the move is likely to happen.

Bamford’s arrival would be the second of the January transfer window with Rudy Gestede having already completed a £6million switch from Villa.

He spent a successful season-long loan spell at the Riverside during the 2014-15 campaign, scoring 17 league goals as the club lost out on promotion to the Premier League in the play-off final at Wembley.

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He has since been sent out to Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley, but has played far less football than he would have liked and been unable to prove his worth.

However, head coach Aitor Karanka has kept an eye on him and with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte willing to let him go, Boro have made their move.

The Teessiders are also maintaining an interest in unsettled Stoke playmaker Bojan Krkic.

Karanka worked with Bojan in the Spanish youth set-up and although he has remained tight-lipped on his interest in him in recent weeks, it is understood he would like him.

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However, Potters boss Mark Hughes insisted at the weekend that he wanted to keep the player and while that may ultimately prove to be a bargaining tactic, the noises coming from Teesside in recent days have been less than confident.

While Karanka is attempting to re-shape his squad - David Nugent has left for Derby and Tomas Mejias and Julien de Sart have gone out on loan, while Stewart Downing and Jordan Rhodes could yet follow - he is also having to protect the assets he wants to retain.

Reports of Leicester’s interest in midfielder Gaston Ramirez emerged over the weekend, prompting the Spaniard to insist the Uruguay international remains part of his plans.