Middlesbrough dealt Tottenham transfer blow | OneFootball

Middlesbrough had been connected with a move for Tottenham's Mikey Moore, but it now seems more likely that he'll be returning to the Bundesliga.

Middlesbrough have had a busy summer in the transfer market, but they now seem likely to miss out on one of their more ambitious transfer targets.

Following the disappointment of missing out on a place in the Premier League after losing last season's Championship play-off final to Hull City, Middlesbrough seem more determined than ever to go one step better next time around.

Boro may have lost star midfielder Hayden Hackney to Everton, but they've been strengthening in the summer transfer market with a string of strong signings, including making the loan signing of Jeremy Sarmiento from Brighton permanent and bringing in Kyle Joseph from Hull.

But while their highest-profile signing to date has been the acquisition of Will Lankshear from Spurs, their hopes of repeating the trick by bringing in another starlet from the North London giants have been dented by news that the player is more likely to head abroad instead.

Middlesbrough set to miss out on Mikey Moore, with FC Koln set to benefit

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Boro were one of a number of clubs in England and Germany who had been interested in taking the Spurs winger Mikey Moore on loan for 2026-27, but a tweet from the journalist Fabrizio Romano has indicated that they may miss out on this particular player.

Romano posted to the social media platform X on Sunday evening that the Bundesliga club 1FC Koln are close to agreeing a deal over taking the player to the Bundesliga on a season-long loan, reporting that negotiations are at an advanced stage, with the player "open to the move".

Middlesbrough were reported to be among "a host of clubs interested" in Moore's services, but the Evening Standard stated at the end of last week that "while the Championship side wants to bring Moore to the Riverside Stadium, the 18-year-old is believed to be holding out for a move to a club in Europe’s top five leagues."

Moore is currently with Spurs on their pre-season tour of Australia. He missed their 2-0 win over Auckland FC last weekend but was left out of the squad that drew 1-1 with Sydney FC on Wednesday and came on as a second half substitute for Manor Solomon in their 2-1 win against Chelsea.

What Middlesbrough fans are saying about Mikey Moore

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Moore is extremely highly rated, and the news that he's unlikely to go to The Riverside Stadium this summer has been greeted with disappointment by Middlesbrough fans. Here's a selection of what has been said about the club's failure to get this move over the line.

This Boro fans feels that moving to the club could have been a great move for both his club and the player concerned:

But this fan felt that the best thing that his club can do now is put this behind them and move onto their next new signing:

Middlesbrough's bid to repeat their Will Lankshear trick has fallen flat

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Middlesbrough managed to secure the signature of Will Lankshear from Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the summer, but they've been unable to repeat the trick with Mikey Moore. They paid Spurs £10 million with another potential £10 million to follow in add-ons for the striker, but their moves to persuade Moore to join Lankshear at The Riverside Stadium on loan has fallen flat.

It was always an extremely ambitious move on the part of the club. Moore is an exceptional talent who could go to the very top, and there was always going to be considerable interest in this young winger, not only from other English clubs but also from abroad.

Having first joined the club as an under-9, Moore's development has been carefully tended by Spurs, although his first-team opportunities there have been limited. He made his Premier League debut for them in May 2024 against Manchester City, becoming the youngest Tottenham player to play in the Premier League in doing so, at the age of 16 years and 277 days. In total, he's made 21 appearances for Spurs, and has scored one goal for them.

Moore's first loan spell away from The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was closely watched across the continent. But although Rangers' 2025-26 season ended in disappointment, with the team finishing in third place in the Scottish Premiership table behind Celtic and Hearts, Moore was a hit, scoring seven goals and contributing three assists in 33 appearances for them.

The prospect of playing in the Championship does not seem to have appealed to the player, with the Bundesliga providing a higher bar for the player to admit. 1FC Koln themselves only finished two places and three points above the German top-flight's relegation places themselves at the end of 2025-26, and will desperate to improve.

But while they may have missed out on this one player, Middlesbrough have still had a strong summer in the transfer market. They'll now be putting this near-miss behind them and getting on with trying to secure their return to the Premier League following an absence of ten years.