Middlesbrough held a deadline day interest in bringing Aleksandar Mitrovic to the Riverside Stadium from North East rivals Newcastle United before he joined Fulham at the eleventh hour.

That is according to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas, who says that the Serbian international striker was in talks with Boro over a move but plumped for a move to Fulham for two reasons.

The first of those was the opportunity to work under his Serbian compatriot Slavisa Jokanovic and the second was the hugely impressive style of attacking, passing football that the Serb has Fulham playing.

That meant that Tony Pulis, who offloaded forwards Ashley Fletcher and Martin Braithwaite on deadline day, missed out on the frontman to boost his attacking options in the all-important run-in and race for promotion.

The Verdict

Mitrovic would have added something different to Boro's attack but Fulham's need for a frontman has been intense for about 18 months now.

Boro fans - would you have welcomed the signing of Mitrovic from your rivals Newcastle? Let us know in the comments below...