Football League World's Middlesbrough fan pundit Phil Wrightson has backed his side to follow through with an offer after reports from the Northern Echo linked the club with Liverpool winger Ryan Kent.

Manager Jonathan Woodgate will be looking to strengthen his side ahead of the new season as he aims to refresh the squad left to him by Tony Pulis, and Wrightson believes the arrival of the 22-year-old could do just that.

"We all know Woodgate has Liverpool connections which may be able to help us in the loan market and we could do a lot worse than Ryan Kent," the regular punter said.

"We have missed the directness that a winger brings to the team since [Adama] Traore left and Kent looks the type of player who would instil a bit of pace and would complement [Britt] Assombalonga, who thrives on service to his feet from out wide and between the defensive line rather than feeding on scraps."

Last season saw Kent spend the season on loan with Rangers in the SPL, where he impressed by chipping in with six goals and nine assists in all competitions.

Since returning to Anfield this summer, he has been linked with numerous clubs including a return to the Ibrox, but the report from the Northern Echo show that interest from Boro is also present.

However, with parachute payments from their time in the Championship now running low, any deal bringing Kent to the Riverside would almost certainly be a loan.

But Wrightson believes that this may not be a bad thing.

"With the parachute payments gone it’s the loan market of young Premier League reserve players with something to prove we perhaps need to rely on rather than expensive mercenaries like Martin Braithwaite.

"If we mix players like Kent with a spine of [Darren] Randolph, [Dael] Fry, [Lewis] Wing and Britt and play the ambitious football Woodgate has promised us we may still be able to challenge this season."