Championship | Middlesbrough looking for new striker

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has suggested that he may bring in a new striker. The Boro chief lost striker Caleb Folan through injury just a few weeks after joining on-loan from Hull City. Folan didn’t even have a chance to start a match for the Teesiders.

The north east side will now look at the situation with the Hull striker set to be out injured for up to six weeks. Boro now only have three strikers to call on from Jeremie Aliadiere, Marvin Emnes and Leroy Lita. Southgate knows he needs more options in attack.

“We’ve got to make sure we have good strikers available. In many ways it’s the most important area,” said Southgate.

“Caleb’s injury is a relatively long one so it’s something we have to look at. We still have three strikers fit and we’ve got competition for places.

“What we will look at is whether we’ve got the right sort of cover for all situations. It’s something we are looking at closely.”

Striker Leroy Lita is likely to start against former club Reading this weekend. Southgate is expected to hand the former Royals striker the chance to prove himself from the start.

“Leroy did very well in midweek. He has not been as sharp as he wants to be because he missed having the benefits of a pre-season,” he said.

“But he held the ball up well, closed defenders down and got in headers at goal. In fact he looked quite a threat.”