As per a report from the Daily Mail, EFL Championship outfit Middlesbrough are plotting a swoop for Birmingham City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz in the ongoing transfer window.
The Teessiders are currently sitting in the fifth position in EFL Championship standings, having accrued 47 points from 28 matches (W12, D11, L5). And in order to fortify their position in the playoff spots, manager Tony Pulis is keen on adding more firepower to his attack and has identified the 29-year-old Jutkiewicz as a viable target. (h/t Daily Mail)
Jutkiewicz started out with the Southampton academy, before securing a move to Swindon Town. Having come through the ranks at Swindon, the Englishman moved to Everton but failed to make the grade at Goodison Park. During his time with the Toffees, the forward was farmed out on loan to Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town, Motherwell FC, before he secured a permanent move to Coventry City FC in 2010.
Having spent a year and a half with the club, during which he scored 18 goals in 69 appearances, Jutkiewicz was signed by Middlesbrough in January 2012. The striker spent three years at the Riverside Stadium, bagging 15 goals in 71 matches. He was then loaned out to Bolton Wanderers for six months in January 2014, where he netted 7 times in 20 games.
In the subsequent summer, Jutkiewicz joined Burnley on a permanent deal where he spent two seasons, without scoring a single goal. The 29-year-old joined Birmingham in the summer of 2016, initially on loan, before the deal was made permanent six months later. Since joining the Blues, the striker has featured 106 times, scoring 28 goals and setting up 15 more.
The Englishman is enjoying his most prolific season for Birmingham this time out, having already found the back of the net on 10 occasions and set up 9 more in 28 Championship appearances. The fact that he has started each league game for Garry Monk’s team this season and has been directly involved in 49% of their 40 league goals indicates how influential Jutkiewicz has been this season for Birmingham.
The 29-year-old is in the mould of strikers that Pulis prefers in his teams. A typical target man, Jutkiewicz offers that physical presence at the top and has shown that he is more than adept at holding the ball up and bringing his teammates into play and creating chances for them while being a direct goal threat himself. In the ongoing season, as per data from WhoScored.com, Jutkiewicz has won 12.8 aerial duels per ninety minutes – the best in the division.
Jordan Hugill is the established first-choice at Boro this season, with Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher providing cover from the bench, while Rudy Gestede is also an option.
Between the four of them, however, they have been able to score just 13 times in the English second division, with Gestede and Fletcher not scoring once. Moreover, the duo could be allowed to leave if acceptable offers come in (h/t Northern Echo), highlighting their need for a new centre-forward.
And Jutkiewicz could prove to be the perfect solution for Pulis and Boro in attack as they look to consolidate their position in the top six of the Championship.
