Middlesbrough urged to swoop for Crystal Palace winger as Swansea City deal collapses - "he’d be perfect” | OneFootball

FLW’s Middlesbrough fan pundit has urged his club to enter the race to sign winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi during the January transfer window.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough will be aiming for automatic promotion from the Championship this season, and there's going to be a need to further add to their squad before the transfer window closes on February 2.

They are under pressure to achieve this with a number of sides on their coattails, with the likes of Ipswich Town, Preston North End and Millwall all hunting down that second automatic promotion place.

With games coming thick and fast in the Championship, the January transfer window could be a pivotal time for Boro to address certain areas of the squad that need more depth and competition so they can keep hold of their place inside the top two.

So far at the turn of the year, Middlesbrough have brought in two players, with left-back Finley Munroe and attacking midfielder Leo Castledine arriving from Aston Villa and Chelsea respectively.

And it now appears Middlesbrough are on the lookout for some wide players, with the club reportedly showing interest in Brighton winger Jeremy Sarmiento, who is currently on loan with Serie A outfit Cremonese.

Meanwhile, former Championship star and Sheffield United loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi could be making his return to the second-tier this month.

The wideman recorded seven goals and two assists from 34 league games at Bramall Lane last season, helping the Blades reach the play-off final, while the first half of this term has seen him spend it in Turkey with Caykur Rizespor, but he has since been recalled by Crystal Palace.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Stoke City and Swansea City were considering moves for the 23-year-old, and it looked as though the latter had a deal agreed - but as per Pete O'Rourke, the plug has been pulled by the South Wales outfit.

With proven second-tier pedigree, Rak-Sakyi is a figure who Boro should have their eye on, having the potential to give them an added dynamism in the final third and ensure the goals continue to flow at the top end of the pitch.

With this in mind, FLW’s Middlesbrough fan pundit has given his thoughts on whether Boro should make a move for Rak-Sakyi during the January transfer window.

Middlesbrough urged to enter Jesurun Rak-Sakyi transfer battle

Speaking to Football League World, Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day has said that he would like to see Boro join the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi during the January transfer window, believing the former Sheffield United loanee would add much-needed quality to help the club score enough goals between now and the end of the campaign.

Liam told FLW: “He’s (Rak-Sakyi) definitely one Boro should be interested in. He seems like a very decent player.

“Has he exploded too much in his career so far? I wouldn’t say so, but I remember when Sheffield United came to the Riverside a couple of years ago, I was most impressed with him, and he felt like a constant goal threat, quite a direct, fast and tricky player.

“I do think Boro should look and get Jeremy Sarmiento, but you probably need another winger on top of that and I think he’d be perfect, so I definitely would like to see Boro be interested in him.

“I think he would offer us something different, somebody quite unique and give us the quality to add a few goals, and then hopefully we can get a striker on top of that.”

Middlesbrough would show a statement of intent making Jesurun Rak-Sakyi capture

While Jesurun Rak-Sakyi hasn’t necessarily hit the heights of what was expected of him at this stage of his career, he has proven that he can be a livewire out wide and offer teams, particularly at Championship level, an added spark in the final third.

On the right-hand side, he is a direct player who is willing to run at and test opposition defenders constantly, while having the ability to create chances and score goals with either foot, but particularly unleashing damaging efforts on his left.

Rak-Sakyi is unlikely to earn any chances in the top-flight with Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season, so you imagine he has to leave Selhurst Park this month in order to keep his career on an upwards trajectory.

A move to the Championship should be the choice he makes given his familiarity with the division, while he should be playing in a team that is competing towards the top end of the division with the quality he possesses.

If Boro were to swoop in and secure this deal, you would feel the Teesside outfit would then have enough quality in the final third to do well for the remainder of the season, with this arrival potentially being the difference maker in ending their nine-year exodus from the big time.

This kind of signing would go a long way for any Championship club, and you do get the sense that whoever lands this deal will be set up for success by having him on their books.