After relegation from the Premier League in 2017, new Middlesbrough manager was looking to hit the ground running at the Riverside by securing promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The former Leeds United man would have a massive task on his hands of reshaping the squad after many key players left in the summer, with a high priority being a new striker with top scorer Alvaro Negredo moving back to Valencia after his loan spell in the North East.

Here, we take a look at the initial reaction when Middlesbrough broke their club-record fee to land Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga, and take a look at how things have gone since the signing...

Naturally, Middlesbrough fans were delighted at the signing. Assombalonga had endured a torrid time with injuries at the City Ground, but still managed to score 30 goals in 47 league starts for the Reds.

A proven goalscorer in the Championship, Boro fans were buzzing at this latest arrival for a reported fee of £15million.

Since then, Assombalonga has endured a mixed time at the Riverside. Having failed to secure promotion last season and sitting well in and amongst the play-off mixer now, he has been hit and miss over the last couple of years.

The 26-year old scored 15 goals in all competitions last term, and after falling out of favour behind Jordan Hugill this season, recently marked his return to the first-team with a brace against high-flying West Brom, where Boro came back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 at The Hawthorns.

The powerful striker is currently the club's top scorer this season with 11 goals to his name, and he is a player that has certainly divided opinions at the Riverside.