Middlesbrough in late transfer battle for Burnley winger amid Sunderland interest | OneFootball

Having sold Morgan Rogers to Aston Villa in a bumper deal which could be worth £15 million in the future, it was unclear as to whether or not Middlesbrough would look into a replacement for the 21-year-old.

Michael Carrick has plenty of options in the final third, especially in the attacking midfield and wide areas, but they are perhaps lacking when it comes to central striker options.

Despite that though, it looks as though the Teessiders are trying to make moves happen in the final hours of the transfer window, and they are said to have joined the race for a Premier League winger who is high in demand.

According to The Sun reporter Alan Nixon, Boro are one of the clubs that are 'in a queue' to try and sign Belgian forward Manuel Benson, who has played minimal minutes for Burnley in the Premier League this season after firing in 11 Championship goals in 2022-23 in their promotion-winning season.

Football Insider claimed earlier on deadline day that Middlesbrough's North East rivals Sunderland were in talks with Burnley to land Benson on a loan deal until the end of the season, having seen their efforts to try and get Amad Diallo back to the Stadium of Light fall short.

There now looks to be a late decision to be made by Burnley on the 26-year-old, who need to decide where Benson's short-term future lies.

Benson has also been linked with Hull City, Southampton and Leeds United this month after he slipped well down the pecking order at Turf Moor over the summer despite signing a new extended contract.

He was one of Vincent Kompany's go-to players in the 2022-23 season, which was his first year in England, and plenty of his 11 second tier strikes were pivotal towards their title win at the end of the campaign.

Plenty of the Belgian's outings last season though were off the bench, and with Kompany signing a plethora of new wingers in the summer window, it has left Benson scrambling for game-time.

With just five matches played in all competitions this season and 100 minutes on the pitch racked up, Benson is likely to move on temporarily from Burnley before the 11pm deadline, but where to is anyone's guess.

Replacing Rogers' flair and creativity would make sense for Middlesbrough, but a player that either plays as a number 10 or cutting in from the left flank would be the best way of adding to Carrick's squad.

Signing a player whose best traits are playing on the right and cutting in would not be - Carrick has Isaiah Jones and Marcus Forss for that position and they are two right-footed players who are quite direct and can go either side of a full-back.

Benson, whilst a very tricky and quality player, has a clear strong point and that is cutting inside and striking the ball with his wand of a left foot, may not be the right Rogers replacement therefore, but when a player like the Belgian becomes available, perhaps you have to take a chance and then fit him in where you can.