This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Middlesbrough are set to miss out on free agent Oumar Niasse as he favours a move abroad, according to a report from TEAMtalk.
The 30-year-old left Everton in the summer and both Boro and Derby County are understood to have shown an interest.
It seems he will be joining neither side as TEAMtalk has reported he is set to move away from English football, with offers on the table from clubs in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
But how big a blow is that for Boro?
We asked our FLW writers for their thoughts...
George Dagless
It's not a huge issue I don't think.
Neil Warnock would probably like another striker to share the workload with the likes of Chuba Akpom and Britt Assombalonga but there are other good players in the Boro squad that can provide attacking threat, even if they are not similar strikers in the former pair's style.
Niasse would have been a powerful, direct presence that would have likely done well under Warnock but it's not to be and Boro will move on.
I don't think it's a massive setback at all, though, as Boro still have good quality in their side.
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George Harbey
This is a disappointing update for Boro.
Whilst Niasse has never really hit the ground running in England for the likes of Everton and Hull City, he's an experienced striker who could have added something different to their front-line.
Neil Warnock definitely needs to bring in another striker and add one to his squad, as they are quite light up top with only Ashley Fletcher, Britt Assombalonga, and Chuba Akpom to choose from.
Free-agents are free-agents for a reason, though, and I don't think Boro should sign a player just because of their name. They need to do thorough scouting and see whether a player would fit in and improve them or not.
Sam Rourke
It's not the end of the world for Boro.
Neil Warnock's side already can call upon the services of Chuba Akpom, Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher in the striker role, and in truth, I can't see Niasse ousting Akpom anytime soon.
The former Everton striker has never shown any form of consistency and he's not going to guarantee you 20+ goals in the Championship.
It may have been a benefit in-terms of squad depth, but I can't imagine Warnock will lose much sleep over it.