Exclusive: Middlesbrough pull plug on Yaya Sanogo signing

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Published on:

11 Sep 2020, 4:42 am

Middlesbrough have pulled the plug on the signing of former Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo, Football Insider can reveal.

This site revealed on Wednesday evening the Frenchman, 27, had been booked in for a medical after agreeing the terms of a free transfer to the north-east outfit.

A Boro source has told Football Insider that the deal is now off the table due to concerns over his fitness.

Manager Neil Warnock and his backroom team fear Sanogo won't be fully match fit for a number of weeks.

That would deprive them of a front man early in the season, with Warnock keen to hit the ground running with a stable of four senior strikers.

Sanogo was targeted by Boro as he is a free agent after his Toulouse contract expired in June.

The forward return to his homeland in 2017 after four years at Arsenal, who he joined in 2013 from Auxerre.

He played just 20 times for the north Londoners and spent time out on loan at Crystal Palace, Charlton and Dutch giants Ajax.

He failed to score in any of his 21 Premier League appearances, but weighed in with three goals during his time in the Championship - all of which came as a hat-trick against Reading.

Warnock is in the market for at one new striker in the remainder of the window.

Boro currently have Ashley Fletcher and Britt Assombalonga as their recognised centre-forward options, while 19-year-old Stephen Walker was used as back-up last season.

In other Middlesbrough news, it can be REVEALED Boro have set their sights on signing a 28-year-old from Wigan Athletic.

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