Sources: Middlesbrough and Derby County in talks to sign Tommy Smith
Middlesbrough and Derby County are in talks to sign former Stoke City defender Tommy Smith, sources have told Football Insider.
Smith, 30, is a free agent after leaving Stoke at the end of last season.
The former Huddersfield captain has been training with Boro and they have discussed offering him a deal at the Riverside.
Derby are working on a deal for Smith as they look to rebuild the squad at Pride Park.
Smith would act as a replacement for Djed Spence at Boro, the right-back who spent the second half of 2021-22 on loan at Nottingham Forest and has now signed for Tottenham.
Derby County meanwhile have lost right-backs Festy Ebosele and Nathan Byrne on free transfers this summer.
They are among 12 players to have left Pride Park following the Rams’ relegation to the Championship at the end of 2021-22.
Smith played 32 times for the Stoke side that finished 14th in the second tier that season, with those appearances yielding one goal and six assists.
The Warrington-born defender came through the ranks at Man City but began his professional career with Huddersfield.
There he made exactly 200 appearances and captained the side in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 Premier League seasons.
Smith has featured in all four of Middlesbrough’s friendly games so far this summer.
Manager Chris Wilder has emphasised the need for strength in depth if they are to improve on their 7th-place finish in 2021-22.
In other news, Middlesbrough plot move to sign Brentford attacker Marcus Forss