Middlesbrough set to beat Millwall to £5m Hull City transfer deal | OneFootball

Middlesbrough are closing on a deal worth around £5 million for Hull City striker Kyle Joseph, who has also been linked with Millwall.

Middlesbrough are preparing for another season in the Championship after missing out on promotion.

Despite losing manager Rob Edwards to Wolves in November, Middlesbrough spent much of last season in automatic promotion contention, but a run of just four wins in their final 15 games saw them drop out of the top two, with Kim Hellberg's men eventually finishing in fifth place.

Boro suffered a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Southampton in their play-off semi-final, but they were handed a promotion lifeline when the Saints were expelled from the final after admitting to observing a training session of their opponents ahead of the first leg, as well as spying on two other teams earlier in the campaign.

However, Boro were unable to take advantage of their second chance as they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City at Wembley last month, with Oli McBurnie's stoppage-time winner for the Tigers condemning the Teesside outfit to a 10th consecutive season in the Championship.

Much of the transfer speculation involving Boro since their play-off final defeat has centred around the future of star midfielder Hayden Hackney, but it seems they may now be closing in on their first new signing of the summer.

Middlesbrough set to beat Millwall to Kyle Joseph, Hull City deal

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Rumours of Middlesbrough's interest in Hull striker Kyle Joseph began to emerge on Sunday morning, with journalist Alan Nixon confirming that a deal to take him to the Riverside Stadium was "on".

Joseph joined the Tigers from League One side Blackpool in a £2.5 million deal in January 2025, and he scored eight goals and provided five assists in 49 appearances last season to help Sergej Jakirovic's side to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship.

The 24-year-old missed Hull's play-off final victory over Boro with an ankle injury sustained in the semi-final second leg win at Millwall, and it appears that he will not be making the step up to the Premier League with his current club as talk of his possible exit from the MKM Stadium gathers pace.

It was reported earlier this month that Millwall had made a £5 million bid for Joseph, and with his father known to be a big Lions fan, a move to The Den may have been appealing to the striker.

However, Joseph instead looks set to make the switch to another of the sides that were beaten by the Tigers in the play-offs, with the Hull Daily Mail reporting that Boro are on the verge of agreeing a fee of around £5 million.

With Hull needing to sell players before Tuesday (June 30) to avoid being hit with a possible points deduction by the Premier League for FFP breaches, it is believed that Boro are hoping to complete a deal for Joseph within the next 48 hours.

Kyle Joseph, Hull City raid may not solve Kim Hellberg's big Middlesbrough problem

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Given that wastefulness in front of goal was the biggest factor in Middlesbrough missing out on promotion last season, it is easy to see why they are keen to strengthen their forward line, but there are question marks over whether Joseph will be the answer.

Joseph is a hard-working striker who played an important role in Hull's promotion, but he scored just eight goals for the Tigers last season, which is the same number as David Strelec netted and five fewer than Tommy Conway.

With the amount of chances that Hellberg's side often create, Joseph could increase that tally significantly at the Riverside Stadium next season, but it is difficult to see him being the clinical finisher that Boro desperately need.