Middlesbrough are looking to add to their striking options this summer even further by going for Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz, with a loan approach made for the Brazilian's services, according to the Sky Sports Transfer Centre (July 28, 11:23am).
However, Fulham are not currently willing to let Muniz depart Craven Cottage until they have sourced a replacement striker to compete with Aleksandar Mitrovic upon their return to the Premier League.
The Cottagers acquired Muniz last summer from Brazilian side Flamengo in an €8 million deal, having scored nine goals in 29 Brasileiro Serie A matches for the club.
Muniz found starts hard to come by under Marco Silva last season though because of the Portuguese head coach's one-strike system, which saw Mitrovic start more-often than not.
The 21-year-old ended up making 25 Championship appearances - just two of those from the start of a match - and scored five goals, but his game-time at Fulham will likely be even more sparse following promotion to the top flight following their title-winning season.
Boro's interest in Muniz was first reported by Brazilian journalist Venê Casagrande a number of weeks ago, but now they are said to have firmed it up with an actual approach - although they have clearly not gotten anywhere with it for the time being.
The Verdict
Boro have been desperate for striker additions all summer, with none of the three loanees from last season returning for another spell at the Riverside.
Chris Wilder's only out-and-out options in pre-season have been Duncan Watmore and Josh Coburn, with Matt Crooks also featuring in the front-line, but fears have been eased with the signing of Marcus Forss from Brentford on a permanent deal.
There needs to be more done though, especially with Coburn's inexperience, so perhaps two more bodies are needed in that area of the pitch, with Muniz clearly targeted as one of those.
He wasn't given nearly enough game-time last season due to the exploits of a certain Serbian goal machine, but he would likely get the minutes needed should Boro close a deal for his services - Teesside would be a good landing spot for the season for Muniz.