@werdermouth talking of judges. Most of us will be familiar with the phrase you know you are getting old when the police start to look young. Well a mature colleague of mine back in the 80s like to pass comment that you know you are getting old when the judges start to look young !
Yes Strelec confirmed from a usually reliable source...
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2025/september/01/get-to-know---david-strelec/
And the Beeb:
DONE DEAL - Boro take forward Strelec from Bratislava
Championship leaders Middlesbrough have strengthened their strike force with the signing of forward David Strelec from Slovan Bratislava. The 24-year-old Slovakia international has signed a five-year contract at the Riverside but the club have not revealed any details of the fee involved.
Strelec helped Slovan win the Slovakian top-flight title last season and featured against both Manchester City and Celtic in the Champions League. He is currently away on international duty as Slovakia prepare to face Germany and Luxembourg in World Cup qualifiers later this week.
Timed at 12.48 BST
I was chuffed with the first three words of the first paragraph.
Interesting time as transfer window nears closure.
I believe Forss has the ideal move to a lower Division team to get games under his belt and his career back on track. At Boro he wasn’t quite a natural centre forward and not your traditional winger who could show trickery and skip past the full back. But he always had the potential to score goals. For this reason alone I expect him to be a good signing for Bolton.
Borges move is no surprise as he never consistently looked the part as a wing back but, in my opinion, did well as a centre back.
A bit of a rumour about Jack Clarke maybe coming to Boro. Started his career impressively, then got a big move to Spurs which was a disaster and his career stalled for a couple of years before reigniting itself on returning to Sunderland. A move to Ipswich gave him another taste of the Premiership. Don’t know how that went but surprised that Ipswich, now back in the Championship, are prepared to let him go. A very tricky winger who would be a big improvement on Silvera - but he is not great at defending.
No imminent departure of Hackney but anything can happen in these last few hours. A move to a Premiership team would presumably be to a lower rated team. Just hope it’s not Wolves or even West Ham as they look to have a relegation fight on their hands this year and I’d hate to see Hackney move to a Premiership team who then got relegated- and worse still if Boro were moving in the opposite direction.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😁👍
@werdermouth - I'd say that is most unlikely.
But then you might remind me that if you asked Sir Winston Churchill about the possibility of carrying out a simultaneous multi-person live conversation with various people in different parts of the world whilst being able to see all their faces on the small screen in your hand, he'd think you were insane. As if you were Zooming into unreality. Even when I was a child at Primary School that would have been as much science fiction as men walking on the Moon. Who knows what the future has in store?
You'll be telling me next that Boro will see football glory again in our lifetimes!
An exciting signing.Yes Strelec confirmed from a usually reliable source...
https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2025/september/01/get-to-know---david-strelec/
The Echo tells that the fee is undisclosed, though reports in Slovakia claim it's a Slovak record sale, which was previously the €7m Sporting paid Bratislava for Andraz Sporar.
So finally we got our man who we tried to sign in January already - to replace Latte Lath.
Now the squad look strong and completed. Well done to Len's mate, Kieran Scott and his team!
Up the Boro!
@powmillnaemore - You know you are old when you look up at the Judge before whom you are appearing: you remember having instructed the Judge (then newly Called to the Bar and in one of his/her first proper outings in court) to act on behalf of a client of yours. Probably wearing a brand new wig that had been gracing a horse not so long before, and prior to the same young barrister having decided to rub it into the dirt and scuff it up a little, so as to avoid giving the (accurate) impression that wetness behind the ears hadn't yet been dried by the passage of time.
When again will OFB, Len or indeed any of the Old Guard, see a British Prime Minister who is older than themselves (or ourselves)?
Strelec will wear his lucky number at Boro as with his previous club. He is Boro's new number 13 😀.
Elsewhere, Championship duo Derby and Millwall have expressed interest in signing Dan Barlaser.
Up the Boro!
@presidentjump Let’s hope that transpires to Mr McGree.
The fee for David Strelec is £6.5m plus £2m in add-ons, the Northern Echo understands. UTB!
I like a player who isn't superstitious - though if he has a lucky number... 🤔
@werdermouth - I'd say that is most unlikely.
But then you might remind me that if you asked Sir Winston Churchill about the possibility of carrying out a simultaneous multi-person live conversation with various people in different parts of the world whilst being able to see all their faces on the small screen in your hand, he'd think you were insane. As if you were Zooming into unreality. Even when I was a child at Primary School that would have been as much science fiction as men walking on the Moon. Who knows what the future has in store?
You'll be telling me next that Boro will see football glory again in our lifetimes!
I remember explaining to my Dad that we had a machine in the office in Manchester in the late 80s that could “copy” a document, then send it down a telephone line to be printed out by the recipient on a similar machine. The concept of a fax machine blew his mind, as I suspect it would now if I described one to a teenager today.
@werdermouth - I'd say that is most unlikely.
But then you might remind me that if you asked Sir Winston Churchill about the possibility of carrying out a simultaneous multi-person live conversation with various people in different parts of the world whilst being able to see all their faces on the small screen in your hand, he'd think you were insane. As if you were Zooming into unreality. Even when I was a child at Primary School that would have been as much science fiction as men walking on the Moon. Who knows what the future has in store?
You'll be telling me next that Boro will see football glory again in our lifetimes!
I remember explaining to my Dad that we had a machine in the office in Manchester in the late 80s that could “copy” a document, then send it down a telephone line to be printed out by the recipient on a similar machine. The concept of a fax machine blew his mind, as I suspect it would now if I described one to a teenager today.
' "Right.. I used to get up in the morning at night at half-past-ten at night, half an hour before I went to bed, Eat a lump of freezing cold poison, work 28 hours a day at mill, and pay da mill owner to let us work there. And when I went home our dad used to murder us in cold blood, each night, and dance about on our graves, singing hallelujah."
"Yah, you try an tell the young people of today that, and they won't believe you..." '
Law McCabe joins Plymouth on loan for the season.
Come on BORO.
Luxury
@exmil I would had hoped for a club in a better position with more favourable options.
illing Junior to WBA
Don't really understand the logic of this. It's great news if it means that Hackney is definitely staying. Good news for both Law and the club if he gets regular League One football. Good news that there is a Christmas release clause. But not so clever if there is an injury to either Hackney or Morris (quite probable). Since Kante is unproven at Championship level, Law should probably be ahead of him in the queue, and it could turn our current midfield strength into an area of possible weakness.
Unless, of course, there is another midfield signing in the next few hours.
Boro are set to sign on loan midfielder Alan Browne from Sunderland.
Come on BORO.
@lenmasterman It sounds like there is in Alan Browne, who I'm sure we were chasing a couple of seasons ago when he was at Preston.
@lenmasterman - Tantalising the readership there, Len!
If Boro gets this squad to the Deadline Day time-limit with HH still part of the club and no other major moves out, I think this squad could turn out to be much better than last season and spectacularly better than at the end of January 2025.
For reference at this stage last season (2024-25) Boro had won 2, drawn 1 and lost 1 of the first 4 league games - a total of 7 points earned. A home 1-0 win against Swansea, a 1-0 defeat at Derby, a 2-2 draw at home to Portsmouth and a 2-0 win away at Cardiff, so scoring 5 and conceding 3.
@andy-r Yes, he was Preston captain making 400 appearances before moving to Sunderland, ironically he could make his debut against Preston after the break.
Come on BORO.
Tom Glover has been released from his contract.
Come on BORO.
Boro have signed goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin (37) from Rangers on a free transfer.
Come on BORO.
Very solid player is Browne, certainly a good back up option.@lenmasterman It sounds like there is in Alan Browne, who I'm sure we were chasing a couple of seasons ago when he was at Preston.
Who knew he has been training with the club for the past six weeks.Boro have signed goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin (37) from Rangers on a free transfer.
Come on BORO.
Alan Browne has joined Boro on loan.
Come on BORO.
What's that then now - 11 signings this summer with Strelec, Browne and McLaughlin - certainly a reshaped squad but overall it's looking pretty balanced with added quality in many positions - plus players moved on who had reached the end of the road on Teesside.
Best of all we kept Hackney, which is like a new signing - not bad for my mid-table candidates who are currently the team top of the league!
@werdermouth still 15 minutes to go. I am still holding my breath for HH
As for the deals in the top leagues - can't believe the numbers being thrown around with over 6 billion pounds being spent in the big leagues - half of which has been spent in the PL and that's before wages!
Bayern have just agreed a €16.5m loan fee for Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson with an obligation to make it permanent at the end of the season for €65m transfer - he's not even that good or reliable as a striker in my opinion.
Desperate stuff and it's just added to the huge debts most clubs are in!
If you can hold it for 15 minutes then you make the Guinness Book of Records 😉
Well that seems to be one of our best transfer windows for a long long time.
Exciting times i think.