One winner and one loser at Middlesbrough if club seals permanent deal for Charlie Cresswell | OneFootball

Middlesbrough will be looking to bounce back from the defeat that they suffered at the hands of Sunderland yesterday when they host Watford at the Riverside Stadium in the Championship this weekend.

Boro were reduced to ten men in this aforementioned fixture before goals from Ross Stewart and Amad Diallo sealed a 2-0 win for the Black Cats.

With teams across Europe still free to sign players, Middlesbrough have recently been linked with a move for Charlie Cresswell.

According to The Sun, Boro are interested in signing the defender on a permanent deal from Leeds United and could finalise a deal if they submit a bid believed to be in the region of £4m.

In order to facilitate a move to the Riverside Stadium, Leeds would have to recall Cresswell from his loan spell at Millwall.

Providing that Boro are able to reach an agreement with Leeds for Cresswell, the defender’s arrival could have a knock-on effect on some of the existing members of the club’s squad.

Here, we have decided to take a look at one winner and one loser at Middlesbrough if the club seals a move for Cresswell…

If Middlesbrough are able to complete a move for Cresswell before the window shuts, Zack Steffen could potentially benefit from the arrival of the 20-year-old.

By receiving some added defensive cover from Cresswell, there is a chance that Steffen could go on to claim clean-sheets on a regular basis in the Championship during the remainder of the campaign.

Cresswell has already demonstrated this season that he is capable of producing assured displays at this level.

In the 16 league games that he has participated in this season, the defender has made 1.3 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 2.3 clearances per fixture and is currently averaging a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.89 in this division.

There is a strong possibility that Anfernee Dijksteel will fall further down the pecking order at the Riverside Stadium if Boro sign Cresswell.

Before picking up a knee injury last month, Dijksteel was deployed as a substitute in five of his previous six league appearances.

Utilised as a centre-back and as a right-back during his time at Boro, the 26-year-old will face an uphill task to force his way into the side when he returns to full fitness.

In order to remain a part of Michael Carrick’s plans for the future, Dijksteel will need to produce some eye-catching performances when he is selected to feature again.

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Liam Roberts has played for Chesterfield