Middlesbrough enter the chase for Udinese’s Mr Dependable

After welcoming in nine new faces to the Riverside Stadium this summer, you could have been forgiven for thinking Middlesbrough had completed their pre-season preparations, but reports this week suggest Aitor Karanka is far from finished.

The latest target is believed to be Udinese’s midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu.

The 25-year-old has been in Udine since 2010, racking up over 150 appearances, and the Ghanaian international came close to joining Stoke 12 months ago.

But having featured against Boro just last week in a pre-season friendly, the holding midfielder has seemingly caught Karanka’s eye.

And in these modern times, plenty was made of Badu’s goodwill message on social media following that friendly clash.

Good to play vs @Boro & my boy Albert Adomah yesterday. All the best for the new @premierleague season #PreSeason pic.twitter.com/Bk7HQL1HoH

— Agyemang-Badu (@Badu_Agyemang) August 4, 2016

And then this really got people thinking…

I remember spending time on trial at @Boro as a youngster. Good club and some good people. All the best

— Agyemang-Badu (@Badu_Agyemang) August 4, 2016

Crystal Palace, Sunderland and West Ham are also rumoured to be courting Badu’s signature, and with transfermarkt.co.uk slapping a £5m tag on Zebrette’s number seven, he’s certainly within budget for any Premier League outfit.

Badu made 25 appearances in Serie A last season, helping Udinese finish 16th, and though breaking-up play is his forte, he’s handy at the other end too with four goals and two assists last term.

Having welcomed Champions League-winning goalkeeper Victor Valdes, La Liga goal-buster Alvaro Negredo, plus the talented Marten de Roon from Atalanta this summer, many thought Boro had completed their summer business.

But this is the latest sign of ambition from Karanka and the Teessiders, who appear to be making excellent progress as they bid to re-establish themselves in the Premier League following a seven-year absence.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.