This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Player view’ series, this content strand is where we put ourselves in the shoes of a given player, and offer an opinion-based outlook on the perspective on the situation at hand…

The arrival of Jonathan Woodgate has not quite brought the attacking revolution that many may have hoped it would.

When the 39-year-old took charge at the Riverside in the summer he appeared to be the antithesis of Tony Pulis–young, attack-minded and with fresh ideas.

Pulis took Boro close to the play-offs last season, finishing one place and one point away from the top six, but it was far from pretty. The North East club kept the tightest defence in the division but were amongst the lowers scorers–adding just 49 goals.

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Woodgate said he wanted to bring attacking football back to Boro when he was appointed as manager but so far it has been a struggle. The Teessiders are the lowest scorers in the division, with just 11 goals from 15 games, and are on course to score 38 goals–11 fewer than under Pulis last season. That lack of attacking prowess has seen them slide down into the relegation zone.

One player who has certainly felt the effect of the struggles is Britt Assombalonga. The 26-year-old has a good record in the lower leagues of English football and found the net 16 times for Boro last season but will likely be frustrated with the way this campaign has started.

There were reports of a potential move away in the summer but the striker stayed put and has found the net just four times so far–making him Boro's top scorer this season.

Despite having scored 36% of his side's Championship goals in 2019/20, Assombalonga has caught a lot of flak from some Boro fans for his slow start to the season in terms of production.

That seems harsh given the team's performances in general and the opportunities presented to him–the striker is underperforming in comparison to his xG but not by much (four goals and an xG of 4.83), according to Wyscout.

Assombalonga will undoubtedly be hoping that he can start finding the net more regularly to prove that he is still Boro's star man in the final third, however, it appears he may face some serious competition if he can't turn things around soon.

With January approaching, you would imagine that Woodgate will look to add some more firepower to his squad, in an attempt to bring the attacking football that he promised.

According to TEAMtalk, the North East club are one of a number of sides interested in Aberdeen forward Sam Cosgrove, who has found the net 15 times already for the Scottish side this season.

With Woodgate favouring a 4-3-3, you'd imagine that Cosgrove's arrival would put Assombalonga's starting place in danger.

With rumours circling about a potential January move, the 26-year-old will surely be looking to prove to Woodgate and the fans that he is still Boro's star man.