Middlesbrough finally landed Everton deal in 2021 - Neil Warnock wasn't disappointed despite summer exit | OneFootball

Yannick Bolasie had seen multiple moves to Middlesbrough collapse prior to signing for the club in the final days of the January 2021 window.

Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock was looking to add quality to his side in the final days of the January 2021 transfer window, and that took him to Everton winger Yannick Bolasie.

With Boro lingering around the play-off places in the Championship as January prepared to turn into February in 2021, Warnock knew this would be his last chance to bolster his side ahead of a big promotion push in the second half of the season.

Having missed out on other top targets, Warnock decided to call up a former player of his from his time in charge of Crystal Palace, in the hope that he could convince him to make a last-minute move to Teesside.

It only took one conversation, and Bolasie was North East bound. He wouldn't require a tour of Middlesbrough's training ground facilities, however.

Middlesbrough finally completed deal for Yannick Bolasie after missing out multiple times

Boro's Rockliffe Park training ground complex won't have been alien to Bolasie when he put pen to paper on a loan deal for the remainder of the season in January 2021.

Tony Pulis attempted to bring the skillful winger to the club back in the summer transfer window of 2018, which would again have seen him reunite with another one of his former managers from his time with Crystal Palace.

Bolasie travelled up to Middlesbrough's training base for additional talks with Pulis, and to complete his medical ahead of a proposed season-long loan switch from Everton.

Discussions were said to have been at an advanced stage, with the deal even stated as possibly containing a clause triggering a £15m permanent transfer should Middlesbrough win promotion in the 2018/19 season, but negotiations became complicated over how the two clubs were going to split Bolasie’s £70,000 per-week wages.

In the end, Bolasie instead decided to spend that season on loan with fellow Championship side Aston Villa, before joining Belgian giants Anderlecht in the second half of the campaign.

However, come October 2020, injuries had blighted his career, and he hadn't made an appearance for Everton since the 2017/18 season. Boro once again pushed for his signature, and despite the club's best efforts and with a deal signed and sent off, it wasn't processed in time to beat the deadline.

Yannick Bolasie proved to be a shrewd addition for Middlesbrough as he showed Premier League quality

So, with the 2021 winter window drawing to a close, and Middlesbrough having missed out on some favoured targets, they decided to roll the dice on Bolasie once again, hoping this time it would be third time lucky.

Indeed it was, as he finally became a Boro player in the final days of the January window.

"I asked if he could help us out until the end of the season and get some fitness in," Warnock said.

"We can't expect wonders but he's a good lad and he can play different positions for me. He'll be good in the dressing room and it's a big boost for us."

A big boost for Boro he would turn out to be, as his three goals and three assists in 15 Championship appearances worked out as a direct goal involvement in just over every two games in the second half of that season.

Despite the club finishing 10th that year and missing out on promotion, he flashed his technical and dribbling ability on numerous occasions during his short spell on Teesside, evidencing the quality that had seen Everton splash out £25m to bring him to Goodison Park from Crystal Palace in 2016.

Bolasie quickly became a popular figure among the Riverside faithful, and upon the expiration of his Everton contract at the end of that season, many Boro supporters demanded the club find a way to make his stay a permanent one.

However, despite initial conversations between Middlesbrough and the winger over this possibility, it was quickly discovered that the two parties were some distance apart in the financial aspects of the deal.

Bolasie's time with Middlesbrough was brief, but in it, he was still able to display the pedigree and top-flight ability that had seen him become one of English football's most renowned and must-watch wingers from his earlier years in the Premier League.