Opinion: Why Middlesbrough should not be considering a move for 25-y/o after further details emerge

Championship club Middlesbrough are now unlikely to be able to strike a loan deal for Manchester United shot-stopper Dean Henderson, according to Saturday evening’s report from The Sun.

Boro were reportedly willing to pay £40,000 of the 25-year-old’s weekly wage – but Erik ten Hag’s side are holding out for the second-tier side to pay an even bigger chunk of his salary.

Instead, they are hoping to strike a deal for Tom Heaton and this may be a wiser decision – because covering £40,000 of Henderson’s wage is a steep cost in the Championship and an investment not worth making.

Although they are likely to be able to strike this sort of agreement with Djed Spence potentially set to leave the Riverside Stadium for a sizeable eight-figure fee in the coming months, a move for Henderson wouldn’t exactly be a long-term one unless they win promotion to the Premier League next term.

There is a good chance they will under the stewardship of Chris Wilder – but there are no guarantees and this is why they should be looking towards someone like Leicester City’s Daniel Iversen instead.

Although Preston may be in a reasonably decent position to recruit him again because of the fact they have taken the Dane on loan multiple times before, you just feel Boro will have a bigger budget than the Lilywhites this summer.

And they should be looking to spend the amount needed to level up their goalkeeping department – because it’s an area that desperately needs strengthening with Joe Lumley and Luke Daniels failing to do enough to assert themselves as the Teesside outfit’s first-choice shot-stopper.

Ideally then, they need two keepers and with Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward both available as senior options to Leicester City, a permanent