Middlesbrough, Derby County and Wigan Athletic eyeing up transfer swoop for Sheffield Wednesday player | OneFootball

Championship outfit Middlesbrough are looking to add to their strike-force this summer and have targeted Sheffield Wednesday‘s Lee Gregory as a potential addition, according to the Daily Mail.

And Boro are set to be joined by Wigan Athletic in the race for the forward’s signature, with the Latics also interested in a deal for the 33-year-old.

Sheffield-born Gregory was an addition to Wednesday’s ranks last summer and he repaid the faith shown in him by Darren Moore, scoring 17 times in 39 appearances in all competitions.

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One of those came in the League One play-off semi-final second leg against Sunderland, and with the Owls unable to make it to Wembley to compete for a spot in the second tier, clubs at that level are keen on giving Gregory one last shot at the Championship.

Middlesbrough have let their three loan strikers in Folarin Balogun, Aaron Connolly and Andraz Sporar return to their parent clubs, leaving Chris Wilder with a shortage of options going into the summer.

He sees Gregory as a viable option for the 2022-23 season, but so does Leam Richardson at Wigan.

Derby County, who Gregory spent the final few months of the 2020-21 season on loan at from Stoke City, are also thought to be interested in a deal, but they currently cannot bring players in due to still being in administration.

The Verdict

Gregory will turn 34 in August, so Championship interest – especially from a team like Boro who will be expected to challenge for promotion – is quite a surprise.

He has never been the most prolific at Championship level, with a seasonal best of 10 for Millwall on two separate occasions, but he has shown an eye for goal still at League One level.

What Gregory can still give also is a lot of energy from the top end of the pitch, and he likely will not cost much in terms of transfer fee and wages due to his age.

However, what would be a shock is for Gregory to move to Derby when their takeover is sorted – even if they do have some money to spend and even though he is an ex-player of the Rams, it would be incredibly surprising if he swapped one third tier side for another.