Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate has insisted that he has total faith in Britt Assombalonga after the forward missed a penalty in last Friday's 3-3 draw against Luton Town.

The 26-year-old, who has been linked with a move to Sheffield United in recent months (via the Northern Echo), is now expected to stay at the Riverside Stadium with the summer transfer window closing later today.

After getting off the mark for the Smoggies in the first-half of their opening day clash with the Hatters, Assombalonga blazed over the bar from the spot in the 82nd minute and was made to rue his opportunity to seal all three points as James Collins netted an equaliser three minutes later at Kenilworth Road.

Having missed a training session yesterday, questions began to circle on whether the forward was about to leave the club.

However, speaking about the forward in the club's latest press conference (as cited by GazetteLive), Woodgate said: "He had a bit of a sore calf so he hasn't trained the last day.

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"But Monday he trained and he's been good. He's really good. He's been fantastic.

"I've got no doubts about Britt, he'll take the next penalty."

The Verdict

With Assombalonga not expected to leave Boro, the club's supporters can surely now breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Since joining the Smoggies from Nottingham Forest in 2017, the forward has been their top-scorer in each of the past two seasons and will be confident on repeating this feat at the end of the current campaign.

Given that Assombalonga is an integral part of Boro's attack, Woodgate will unquestionably want him to kick-on this year by reaching the 20-goal mark in the Championship, something of which he has yet to achieve at this particular level of football.

If he can avoid injury and link up sufficiently with the likes of Marcus Browne and Marvin Johnson, there is no reason why he cannot provide the firepower needed for the Smoggies to launch a serious push for promotion this season.