Middlesbrough 'flop' claim made on £6.5m man - he's "currently costing Kim Hellberg" promotion | OneFootball

David Strelec has struggled for Middlesbrough this season since joining from Slovan Bratislava last summer

Middlesbrough have given themselves a strong chance of winning automatic promotion to the Premier League, but summer signing David Strelec has failed to reach the lofty standards of his team-mates after his big-money arrival.

Since moving to Boro from Slovan Bratislava, the Slovakia international forward has struggled in front of goal, leaving more weight on the shoulders of fellow attackers such as Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway.

The 24-year-old notched 25 goals and eight assists across all competitions last season, but he has failed to find form in the Championship this term, having spent time out through injury, and he doesn't appear to be fancied from the start often enough by Kim Hellberg.

Boro have struggled to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to title rivals Coventry City on February 16, enduring successive draws with Oxford United and Leicester City, with Strelec's first league start since Boxing Day coming against the former, but he had just one shot in the match and was hooked on 75 minutes by Hellberg.

David Strelec slammed despite Middlesbrough promotion challenge

Middlesbrough's recent poor form has brought Millwall, Ipswich Town and Hull City into the automatic promotion race and helped Coventry strengthen their grip on the title.

Boro paid £6.5million for Strelec last summer, and could pay a further £2m in add-ons, but the striker has not proved his worth and is yet to adjust to the Championship.

Football League World asked our Boro fan pundit, Liam Day, if there are fears that Strelec may end up going down as a flop, given his first few months on Teesside.

Day told FLW: "He's not been anywhere near the standard everyone expected of him. We saw that goal he scored in the international break, and we were like, 'Oh my god, what have we signed?'

"But then he seems, and I'm not sure if it's just how he is, but overweight, disinterested, and he doesn't really make an impact in the games. He's had a couple of nice moments, playing a few nice balls.

"Overall, I don't think he's anywhere near what we need for a promotion push, and it shows that in January, we just didn't get what we needed, and it's currently costing Kim Hellberg.

"I don't think, with the options off the bench, he can do much more, and David Strelec is contributing to that. He's not been anywhere near good enough.

"I think he's definitely going to be considered a flop, unless he turns around his form, which, very much now, you just cannot see.

"It's highly disappointing and, after the expectation of him coming in, it's very, very underwhelming, to say the least."

Middlesbrough need more from David Strelec at the business end of the season

As alluded to by Day, Boro's problems in recent fixtures have largely been down to the fact that Hellberg does not have the strong attacking options he needs on the bench, which is something that the Riverside Stadium outfit didn't address in the winter transfer window.

Meanwhile, Strelec's handsome transfer fee suggested that the Slovakia international should have been capable of beating Conway to a regular spot in Middlesbrough's starting lineup.

However, the 24-year-old has instead proven himself to be goal-shy, which has not helped Hellberg's men in their quest to win promotion to the Premier League.

Strelec must turn around the narrative that he has been a flop, while Boro need him to perform in the coming weeks and months to ensure that they do not slip away from the automatic promotion spots.