Middlesbrough

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Today is the final chance of the season for your Championship team to do transfer business.

The window closes at 19:00 GMT, meaning teams - and fans - can avoid the usual late-night transfer scramble.

It has already been a busy window - for some teams anyway - but whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest have failed with an approach for Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney.

The Premier League side contacted the Championship promotion-chasers on Sunday but it was immediately knocked back.

Boro are level on points with Coventry City at the top of the Championship as they look to return to the top flight for the first time since 2016-17.

Hackney turned down a move to Ipswich Town in the summer after Middlesbrough agreed a £20m deal.

The 23-year-old was happy to bide his time at Boro, having come through the academy and made 145 appearances, and choose his next move carefully.

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Sverre Nypan's loan spell at Middlesbrough has been mutually terminated.

Norway midfielder Nypan had been on loan at the Riverside from Manchester City for the whole season, but he has now returned to his parent club.

The 19-year-old, who was signed by City last summer from Rosenborg, made 21 appearances for Boro, but only started three of those games.

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg paid tribute to his team's defensive side as Boro hung on to beat in-form Norwich City.

The home side survived mounting pressure in the second half as they held on to win 1-0 thanks to Hayden Hackney's 17th-minute long-range strike.

A 17th win of the season lifted Boro level on points with Coventry City and behind the Championbship leaders on goal difference as the Sky Blues were beaten at QPR.

"The last five minutes of this game were in some ways the ugliest thing I have seen on a football pitch and in some ways the most beautiful thing," he told BBC Radio Tees.

"It was passion, everyone involved. The crowd was unbelievable, the players understood everything in terms of playing the way we needed to play in those five minutes, so I think that was very, very beautiful and something very special.

"It felt like it wasn't our best day with the ball but then [it's about] how you defend like that in the second half. That is against a team that has done four wins in a row.

"How you defend with that heart and that passion and doing that together and still keeping them away from clear chances - the passion and the energy, that's what I'm going to take away with me. It was unbelievable."

New signing Jeremy Sarmiento will fit perfectly into the way Middlesbrough play, says head coach Kim Hellberg.

The winger, 23, joined on loan from Brighton this week having been a key member of Burnley's promotion-winning side last season.

"He's a very good footballer. I love how he moves, presses, attacks and his technique," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"He hasn't played for a while so we have to understand it will take a little while for him to be game fit. Everything with him in terms of how he acts, talks and football-wise, that's a player that suits the way we want to play very well."

Sarmiento is Boro's third arrival in the transfer window alongside attacking midfielder Leo Castledine and young full-back Finley Munroe, but Hellberg is unsure if there will be further additions.

"I'm quite happy with the players we have but you want to have as good a team as possible so if the recruitment team finds a good player and thinks we can sign him, and we think he'll make a good addition to the squad of course we'll try to do that."

Middlesbrough are second in the Championship as they prepare to meet Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

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Middlesbrough midfielder Abdoulaye Kante will spend the rest of the season on loan at Saint-Etienne.

Kante only moved to Boro last summer for an undisclosed fee on a five-year contract from French side Troyes.

The Ivory Coast player appeared in five games, but only started one Championship match.

All of those were during Rob Edwards' spell in charge, with Kante yet to play since Kim Hellberg arrived as head coach although he did have surgery on a sports hernia injury in the autumn.

Kante joins with Saint-Etienne fifth in France's Ligue 2.

Image source, Opta

Middlesbrough will look to keep their promotion bid on track when they welcome much-improved Norwich City on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Boro - who are second and five points clear of Ipswich in third - have bounced back from a four-game winless run with four straight victories for the second time under Kim Hellberg, having also won his first four games in charge.

The Canaries are now 18th and four points clear of the drop zone after three straight wins and have picked up 24 points in 14 games under Philippe Clement, compared to just nine in the 15 matches before he took over as boss.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their past eight league meetings with Norwich (W5 D3), after losing five straight against them prior to this current run (between September 2017 and November 2020).

• Norwich's most recent Championship away win against Middlesbrough in 2021-22, under Daniel Farke (1-0). Since then, the Canaries are winless in three away trips to face Boro (D1 L2), conceding eight goals and only scoring twice.

• Middlesbrough are looking to win five consecutive Championship matches for the first time since October 2023, in what was a six-game streak under Michael Carrick.

• Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker has been directly involved in 10 goals in 12 Championship appearances under Kim Hellberg (7 goals, 3 assists); more than any other player in the division since Hellberg took charge last November.

• Anis Ben Slimane has scored in each of his past three Championship appearances for Norwich, and now has more goals in five league games this term (3) than he managed in 33 outings for the Canaries last season (2).

Bristol City are closing in on a loan deal for Middlesbrough forward Delano Burgzorg, 27. (Bristol Post), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Thursday's full gossip column here.

Neil Maddison has given his verdict on new Boro signing Jeremy Sarmiento believing the Brighton loanee "fits the bill" as the Teesside club chase promotion.

Former Middlesbrough midfielder Maddison believes that the Ecuador international will improve under boss Kim Hellberg after joining on Tuesday, despite limited game time during a loan spell at Cremonese.

The 23-year-old only made seven appearances while on loan at the Serie A side, all coming from the bench.

"I'm sure [Hellberg] will get a tune out of him," Maddison told BBC Radio Tees.

"He's got a little bit about him in terms of his pace, technically he's very good so I think he fits the bill for the way we play.

"It's another good addition, it gives you another option and I'm just hopeful that he can start firing, and grow under Kim Hellberg."

Listen to Maddison's full thoughts and more Middlesbrough content on BBC Sounds.

Middlesbrough have beaten Birmingham City to a loan deal for Brighton and Ecuador winger Jeremy Sarmiento, which includes an obligation to buy the 23-year-old on a four-and-a-half-year deal for £3.2m. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

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Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg says his players delivered an "unbelievable performance" in their 4-0 hammering of Preston North End.

Boro had got home in the early hours of Thursday morning from the win at Stoke City and just over 48 hours later, they shrugged off a lunchtime start to dismantle 10-man North End.

The fourth successive league win halved the gap on leaders Coventry City to three points, while Ipswich Town's defeat at Sheffield United means Boro now have a five-point cushion over the Tractor Boys, who sit third.

"What a performance from the lads, what energy," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"Going away to play Stoke on a Wednesday night, travelling eight hours back and forth on the bus, having the West Bromwich game before, 16, 17 hours on the bus back and forth, then one day less of rest playing this game on Saturday lunchtime, which is the shortest amount of rest you can get in between games.

"Then to put in that type of energetic performance, that is unbelievable from the players."

Image source, EFL

A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."

Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg says several players could return from injury for Saturday's Championship game against Preston North End (12:30 GMT).

Boro have had to cope with a significant injury list - Alfie Jones, Darragh Lenihan, George Edmundson, Callum Brittain, Alex Bangura, Riley McGree, David Strelec and Kaly Sene have all been absent in recent weeks and months.

"I don't know if someone is ready to start but there will be some players back," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"If they are not back this week, they will be back the next week so it is looking much better for us."

The Teesside club have won their past three league games to sit two points above third-placed Ipswich Town and now face their third game in just over a week.

However, the side's most recent performances have shown the Swede that a congested schedule should not affect how his side perform.

"It cannot be an excuse for us to not bring the best of [our] energy, it cannot be an excuse for someone to not be ready to play," Hellberg added.

"We know that is how it is and we need to bring all the energy in the world to perform. That demands even more from us in that amount of time and how I balance the squad is key."

Listen to the full interview and more Middlesbrough content on BBC Sounds.

Middlesbrough have the chance to cut Coventry's lead to three points with a win over Preston on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Boro are looking to record four successive league wins for the second time this season.

Preston's promotion challenge is wobbling on the back of successive home defeats by Derby and Hull City in which they have failed to score but they did win their last away game, 2-0 at Bristol City.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten across their past three home league games against Preston North End (W2 D1), netting nine goals in those matches. Since the start of 2022-23, it is the most goals they've scored on home soil against any side in the Championship.

• Preston North End are unbeaten across their past four league games against Middlesbrough (W2 D2), while they last enjoyed a longer unbeaten run in this fixture between December 1951 and December 1953 (five games).

• Following a 4-0 win against Southampton earlier this month, Middlesbrough are looking to record a clean sheet in consecutive home league games for the first time since their first two at the Riverside this season.

• Preston have lost their past two league games, though both have come at home. They last lost more consecutively in April last season (4).

• Morgan Whittaker has scored six goals in 12 home league appearances for Middlesbrough this season. That is at least three times as many as any of his team-mates at the Riverside (two for David Strelec, Hayden Hackney, Tommy Conway and Dael Fry).