Middlesbrough could face a battle to keep key playmaker Finn Azaz this summer as interest from the Premier League grows in the Ireland international.
Reports from the Irish Independent suggest that Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and newly-promoted Leeds United are all interested in the 24-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window. It follows an influential season in which he scored 12 goals and registered 11 assists, making him the only player in the division to reach double figures for both.
Boro will hope to keep hold of Azaz this summer, with the star man still having three years remaining on his Riverside deal. His contract situation means Boro would have a strong position when it comes to demanding a big fee for a player they paid just over £2 million for 18 months ago from Aston Villa.
While Boro’s preference would be to try and keep their best players when possible, they have been forced into sales to help them stay within the PSR threshold in order to ensure they have money to spend to keep their own squad competitive. This summer, they’re believed to already be in a strong position in that regard after the club-record sale of Emmanuel Latte Lath in January.
On top of that, they’ve received bonus payments from both Djed Spence and Morgan Rogers’ sales over the past 12 months and could profit further if Aston Villa’s failure to qualify for the Champions League next season results in Rogers leaving. Boro have a ‘big’ sell-on clause attached to that deal.
Boro could also make further money this summer selling Rav van den Berg and/or Hayden Hackney. Again, as a first priority, the club would prefer to keep both. But with just two years remaining on their current deals, the club will recognise this could be the opportune time to sell such big assets if new contracts can’t be negotiated.
For now, Boro are continuing work on their own transfer window preparations, with the first of two windows this summer opening on Sunday. How much activity there is in this first ten-day window remains to be seen, however, with no competitive fixtures for Boro or other Championship clubs in this period, and therefore no real need to rush. Most players being away on holiday at this stage of the post-season delays matters also.