Middlesbrough and Watford set to tussle for Premier League goalkeeper | OneFootball

The Championship duo are set to re-ignite their interest after a key stumbling block has passed.

Middlesbrough and Watford are set to step up their pursuit of AFC Bournemouth’s Mark Travers after the goalkeeper fulfilled an important obligation in their Premier League clash with Chelsea last night.

The Irishman started between the posts for Andoni Iraola’s side last night, with first-choice stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga unable to play against his parent club as a condition of his loan deal.

Now though, according to the Irish Mirror, Travers looks set for his own loan spell, with the aforementioned Championship duo both circling.

The Irishman spent time in the second tier of English football last season during a loan deal with Stoke City, and he looks set to return to that level for the second half of this campaign.

Mark Travers was unable to depart Bournemouth before this week

Given the situation within the Cherries’ goalkeeping department, there’s no way either Middlesbrough or Watford would have been able to get a deal over the line prior to Tuesday night's match at Stamford Bridge.

With Arrizabalaga ruled out contractually, Iraola was forced to turn to his second string Travers, with the inexperienced Will Dennis sitting on the bench, just as he had for the return fixture at the Vitality Stadium back in September.

Travers turned in a strong performance in last night’s battle, finishing the game with eight saves to his name. However, he was beaten by a stoppage time Reece James free-kick, which secured a 2-2 draw with Enzo Maresca’s side.

With Travers' obligations now fulfilled, the chasing pack of Boro and the Hornets look likely to re-ignite their chase of Travers.

Middlesbrough have been hit badly with injuries of late, with both Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn sidelined for the near future, goalkeeping department is looking fairly thin for Michael Carrick at present.

Carrick is understood to be a big fan of the Bournemouth goalie, who has also represented the Republic of Ireland at senior level on four occasions.

Watford FC join Middlesbrough in Mark Travers transfer chase

Despite the interest from Middlesbrough, it is understood that Tom Cleverley’s Watford are also keen.

The Hornets’ Austrian number one Daniel Bachmann (pictured) has been ruled out for up to three months due to an ankle injury, leaving Jonathan Bond as the only remaining senior option to step into Bachmann’s shoes at Vicarage Lane.

It’s unlikely Cleverley will want to rely on just Bond alone, as the 31-year-old has made just nine appearances this season.

Considering both sides are firmly in the play-off shakeup at this stage, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a real battle ensue for Travers’ services.

Both Middlesbrough and Watford will be hoping to claim one of the top six spots at the end of the season, and with fierce competition from arguably as many as five other teams at present, securing the immediate future of their number one spot could be vitally important.

Neither will want to end up in a situation where they have to rely on a back-up option for any crucial games and risk dropping valuable points in the hunt for a play-off spot.