Patrick Bamford is close to completing an intriguing transfer from Middlesbrough to their Championship rivals Leeds United in a deal which could eventually be worth £10m.
The 24-year-old former Chelsea striker is understood to have passed a medical in West Yorkshire on Monday and is expected shortly to join Marcelo Bielsa’s side for an initial fee in the region of £7m.
Considering both sides are hoping to challenge for automatic promotion, the technically accomplished Bamford’s switch represents something of a risk for Tony Pulis but Middlesbrough’s manager will hope to reinvest the money in a forward arguably better suited to his preferred system.
Bielsa had spent much of the summer pursuing the Derby forward Matej Vydra but a combination of Vydra’s wage demands and his desire to play in the Premier League ultimately scuppered any potential move.
Leeds have also completed a season-long loan deal for Jack Harrison, Manchester City’s England Under-21 winger. Harrison spent the second half of last season on loan at Middlesbrough but made just four league appearances.
Pulis is hoping to keep Adama Traoré at the Riverside. Wolves are believed to have had an £18m bid for the winger rejected by Boro with the situation complicated slightly by the dislocated shoulder the player sustained in the abandoned friendly with Sunderland on Friday.
