Britt Assombalonga’s time with Middlesbrough finally came to an end over the summer with the forward leaving the Riverside Stadium on a free transfer at the end of his contract.

The forward was never able to really live up to expectations at Middlesbrough following his £15 million move from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2017.

At the time of his arrival, Assombalonga was considered to be amongst the best strikers in the Championship and someone that guaranteed goals in the English second tier.

That came after he had fired home 15 and 14 league goals in the two full campaigns he remained fit for at the City Ground.

However, despite managing to register 15 and 16 goals in all competitions in his first two seasons with Middlesbrough, there was always the sense that Boro were not getting the absolute best form out of him on a consistent basis.

Undoubtedly, Assombalonga’s form in his last two seasons at Middlesbrough declined and he managed just 11 goals in the 2019/20 campaign.

Neil Warnock did attempt to get him back to his best form and even handed him the captaincy to get more from him but that failed to work out.

The forward therefore left Middlesbrough in the summer in a disappointing fashion after being told by Warnock ahead of the end of the campaign that his services were no longer required for Boro.

There were one or two links with a potential move to Bristol City that would have seen Assombalonga remain in the Championship for the foreseeable future.

However, the 28-year-old’s wage demands made that move always seem unlikely, and it was thought that he would eventually have to find a new club abroad to get his career back on track.

Eventually, Assombalonga did secure himself a move to ambitious newly-promoted Turkish side Adana Demirspor who were prepared to offer him the sort of salary that he was looking for.

Following his arrival in Turkey, Assombalonga issued a message to Middlesbrough supporters on his personal Twitter account thanking them for their support in his four-year spell. Whilst he was also keen to wish Boro well for the new season and the future.

Since his move to Turkey, Assombalonga has managed to become an important member of Adana Demirspor’s side as they aim to establish themselves in the Turkish top-flight.

The forward made his league debut for the club against Fenerbahce in their opening league fixture from the bench, but he was unable to help them pick up a point as they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

The 28-year-old then came off the bench at half-time in their second game of the campaign at home against Kayserispor. His introduction to the side helped Adana Demirspor pick up their first point of the season as they secured a 1-1 draw.

Assombalonga’s performances from the bench in Adana Demirspor’s first two league games convinced their manager Vincenzo Montella to hand him his first start last time out against Konyaspor.

The forward repaid that faith by scoring his first goal for the club and he delivered a strong all-around performance in another 1-1 draw.

That leaves his new side in 15^th place on two points after three league matches at the moment. He will hope to continue his form when the campaign resumes.