Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough were trying to sign Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic before sealing a deal for Sunderland man Paddy McNair earlier in the transfer window.

According to Teeside Live, Tony Pulis was keen on adding Besic to his squad for the first few weeks of the transfer window, before finalising a deal for former Manchester United man McNair for a fee of £5m.

Besic spent half of last season on loan at the Riverside and was impressive in the main for Boro as they managed to seal a playoff spot before losing out to eventual losers Aston Villa.

The Bosnian will now be hoping this season he can impress new Toffees manager Marco Silva and reclaim a spot in the starting XI at Goodison Park, however, he might well be left to wonder what might have been in terms of his stint with Middlesbrough.

Boro have had a fairly active transfer window this summer and have in the main managed to keep hold of their key men, however, they are set to sell striker Patrick Bamford to Leeds United this weekend after a £10m fee was agreed between the clubs.

Besic was signed by Everton but has so far failed to live up to expecations. A move back to Boro could well end up materialising if he does indeed fail to break into the Toffees squad this summer.

Boro fans, what did you make of Besic? Would you have signed him permanently? Let us know in the comments!