Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen are keen to take Middlesbrough left-back Hayden Coulson on loan, according to the Daily Record.
The 24-year-old spent the second half of last season at Peterborough United after being deemed surplus to requirements at the Riverside Stadium - but was unable to save Grant McCann's side from relegation as he made just six league appearances.
This loan spell came after a reasonably unsuccessful stay in the third tier with Ipswich Town, with the left-sided player suffering with injury problems during his stay in Suffolk and that ruined his chances of being firmly involved in an exciting project at the club before returning to Teesside.
Although Neil Taylor was released on the expiration of his contract, potentially providing the 24-year-old with hope that he could be a part of Chris Wilder's plans for next season, Ryan Giles has arrived on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers to replace the Welshman.
And with Marc Bola remaining at the club at this stage, his first-team appearances look set to be limited once more if he remains at his current side with Wilder telling him to find a new club.
Aberdeen could be set to offer him an escape route with the Scottish side reportedly identifying him as a potential option.
After being placed on their shortlist, Jim Goodwin's men are now believed to be keen to secure a temporary agreement for his services and with his contract at Boro expiring in 2023, this potential loan deal is likely to take him to the end of his current terms.
The Verdict:
Although Boro may want to secure a permanent agreement to generate a fee for him - they will probably be happy to let him go for free next summer - as long as they can get him off their wage bill for this upcoming campaign.
Already generating an eight-figure fee for Djed Spence, it's not as if they are desperate for extra income at this stage so providing a fringe player with a fresh start will be their highest priority over making money.
With this, the Scottish club may find it worthwhile to try and persuade Boro to let him go on a free transfer this summer, something that will enable them to tie him down at Pittodrie for the long term.
They will then have the opportunity to sell him on if he becomes surplus to requirements or performs particularly well and is subject of a sizeable bid, so it will be interesting to see if they want to make this possible agreement a long-term one.
If he performs extremely well on loan during 2022/23 and they don't manage to get him tied down permanently at some point during the season, there are no guarantees he will return to Aberdeen so Goodwin needs to consider that.