Middlesbrough appear to be close to signing Brighton & Hove Albion striker Aaron Connolly on loan, as per a recent report by the Daily Mail.

Chris Wilder is keen to add to his attacking options and seemingly views the 21-year-old as the ideal candidate to assist his side with their quest to make it into the play-offs this season.

Here, we take an in-depth look at their pursuit of the player as we also weigh up whether it is a good move or not for the North East club to make.

Is it a good potential move?

Absolutely. Boro have greatly struggled to find a regular partner for Andraz Sporar up top and could now be set to fill that void by bringing in Connolly.

He is a player that is highly rated by Brighton but has largely struggled to get much in the way of game time due to the form of Neal Maupay on the South Coast.

This move would give him the minutes that he plays and it would provide Middlesbrough with another option in the final third.

Wilder certainly views this as a move that ticks all the boxes for his side.

Would he start?

The main expectation over this move would be that Connolly is set to start pretty much every game for Boro.

If this isn't the case, there isn't much point in the youngster moving all the way up to the North East.

He needs to be starting games in order to continue his development as a striker and would certainly benefit from playing alongside more experienced players such as Sporar.

It would be fair to assume that he would start in a front two with the Slovenian.

What does he offer?

Connolly has largely played as an out and out centre forward for much of his career but is also capable of playing as both a shadow striker and as a winger.

His low centre of gravity makes him a hard player to defend against due to his dribbling ability and ability to link the play.

Due to his small stature the 21-year-old is best served when playing a front two, as this allows him to drop into space between the lines in order to create openings for himself and others.

Whilst he also offers a good threat in behind because of his turn of place and string game intelligence.