Ahead of the new Championship season, Middlesbrough have paid a club record transfer fee to take Britt Assombalonga from Nottingham Forest.
The 24-year-old arrived at Forest from Peterborough United in 2014 for a fee of £5.5million, and although he has endured a difficult time with injuries, he still registered a respectable 30 goals in the 69 appearances he clocked up for the City Ground club in all competitions.
This has persuaded Boro to lure him to the Riverside Stadium, for a fee which surpasses the £12.8million they paid Heerenveen for Afonso Alves in January 2008. Assombalonga will be tasked with adding some much needed firepower into a side which scored just 27 times in the Premier League last term.
“I can’t wait to get started and train with the boys. I’m glad it’s completed and I can focus on what’s ahead now,” he told the official club website. “I can’t wait to meet the manager and get ready for next season. There’s a good feeling around the place. From the minute I walked in, it felt right.”
Boro chairman Steve Gibson expects his side to bounce back to the top-flight at the first time of asking, and he has appointed Garry Monk as the manager to achieve this. As well as Assombalonga, the club have signed Martin Braithwaite, Jonny Howson, Cyrus Christie and Connor Roberts this summer.
