Opinion: Why Middlesbrough should be prepared to make a loss on first-teamer amid approach | OneFootball

The Turkish side are proposing to take the 27-year-old away from the Riverside Stadium for free, but are willing to insert a 20% sell-on clause in this agreement to allow Boro to potentially benefit from a further sale.

Many people would think the Teesside outfit are in a strong negotiating position considering the striker still has two years left on his contract and the fact he managed to score some vital goals for Cardiff City during his loan spell in the Welsh capital last season.

Quiz: Can you name which club Middlesbrough signed these 25 English players from?

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Steve Vickers

Spennymoor United Birmingham City Tranmere Rovers Sunderland

With this, they could potentially demand a cash offer for his services and that would make sense, with Chris Wilder wanting as much money as possible to spend between now and the end of the summer window.

After all, they potentially require another forward or two on top of Matthew Hoppe, as well as a replacement for Marcus Tavernier, more depth in midfield and another centre-back.

With the free-agent pool getting smaller, they could potentially use the loan market heavily but in their quest to build for the long term, they will want some permanent additions over the line.

They will never have a better opportunity to spend in the Championship either following Tavernier and Djed Spence’s sales – and Ikpeazu’s departure could add to the pot of money Wilder has at his disposal if a cash fee is demanded.

However, their negotiating position is weakened by the fact other clubs know he’s surplus to requirements, making those interested sides less willing to spend money on him.

They could struggle to get an offer that meets their valuation if they hold firm for a fee – and that could mean the 27-year-old remains at Boro beyond the summer window – something that wouldn’t be desirable for the club or the player.

So whilst Boro won’t be thrilled to see him leave on a free transfer after spending cash on him to lure the forward away from Wycombe Wanderers last summer, they should be looking to get him off the wage bill at all costs, for everyone’s sake.

Recent sales have made this affordable and there’s always a chance that the money used for his salary could be used elsewhere, either to pay for a free agent later in the year, submit a marginally better offer for a player or provide a current first-teamer with a pay rise.