Aliadiere joins Middlesbrough

"'Who are two players who won't be at Arsenal next season?' Alex."

Jeremie Aliadiere has joined Middlesbrough from Arsenal on a three-year deal for £1.5 million, according to his agent.

The 24-year old former France Under-21 striker had been linked with a move to the Riverside since the January transfer window of 2007, with a proposed move vetoed by Arsene Wenger due to injuries suffered by fellow Arsenal strikers Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.

But, following Mark Viduka's departure to Newcastle and the release of squad players Massimo Maccarone and Malcolm Christie, Boro boss Gareth Southgate has moved to reinforce the striking ranks in Teesside with the player,who will partner Yakubu Aiyegbeni and, if the transfer is completed as proposed, Turkey star Tuncay.

This was only a matter of time. Arsenal needed to unload Aliadiere who hasn't proved that he can score with any regularity at any level -- be it the top level of English or Scottish football, or the lower competion of the Championship and the Carling Cup. Assuming everyone else gets healthy and stays at Arsenal, you have a selection of Henry, van Persie, K2, and Bendtner. The last more successful at Birmingham than Aliadiere ever was at Wolves.

On the other end of the deal, it's not quite clear what Boro are doing. Should the rumours pan out, they're looking at a choice amongst Beattie (big, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Smith (small, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Tuncay (an unknown, untried in the Premiership), and Aliadiere who has yet to impress at any level.

No Yak. No BFMV. No creativity in midfield. Another year-long series of poor deliveries from the left flank as their only plan. I would expect to see Boro, along with Fulham, Wigan, Bolton, and Derby mired at the bottom of the table next season.

Boro Agree Tuncay Terms

Middlesbrough have made a major transfer breakthrough by agreeing personal terms with Turkey striker Tuncay Sanli.

The 25-year-old forward, who is out of contract with Fenerbahce,
will head for Teesside to undergo a medical next week with a view to
completing a free transfer switch to the Barclays Premier League.

Tuncay, reportedly a target for Manchester City and Birmingham, began his career at home-town club Sakaryaspor before joining Fenerbahce in 2002, and has scored 59 goals in 154 league games for the Istanbul outfit.

He also scored a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester United in 2004.

A central striker who can also play on both flanks, he has 13 goals in 43 internationals and will be seen as a replacement for Mark Viduka, who left Boro for north-east rivals Newcastle last week.

This certainly sounds like better news than signing Jeremie Aliadiere. I don't know much of anything about Tuncay. Is he +10 material?

Viduka Closing In On Toon Move

Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka is understood to have agreed in principle to join north-east rivals Newcastle.

His 19 goals last season - seven of them in his last five starts - were key to Boro's successful fight against relegation from the Barclays Premiership and took his tally for the club to 42 in 100 appearances, 20 of them as a substitute. [emphasis mine -j.]

That's the key. Viduka plays hard when his next payday is the issue. So you invariably get goals from him in August, December, and April. Then he'll go quiet for months at a time. I sure hope Big Sam realizes this. Maybe they'll structure his contract in such a way that he only gets paid when he scores. Or they'll make him sign a series of short-term (like a month at a time) deals. Anything they can do to keep him focused.

Now, is Big Sam going to bring his 4-3-3 to Newcastle? Viduka is certainly the mold of the big center forward he likes. See Davies, Kevin. (As an aside, what would Big Sam have done with Shearer? Wow. Imagine his glee at having the original at his disposal.) But are Owen and Martins the wide attackers he wants? Certainly Duff and Milner would be naturals. In fact, wouldn't a front line of Duff, Viduka, and Milner playing in front of Parker, Barton, and Butt suit Sam nicely? It would be like Bolton but with better quality players. But how do you leave out £17 million worth of striker? Going to be interesting, especially for fantasy managers, how Big Sam works it out.

And can we start the Speed to Newcastle rumours right here and now? He's a former and still much beloved player. He knows and thrives under Allardyce's system. Makes much more sense to me that Sam would go back to Bolton for Speed, rather than Nolan or Diouf.

As for Boro, they now have to replace (and hopefully for them, increase) Viduka's goal tally. Perhaps they should be looking for a bit more mobility to complement Yakubu. In fact, they might just have to replace Yakubu too if his on again, off again relationship with the Nigerian national team is on again for January's African Nations Cup. I think they could do worse than look to prise Louis Saha AND Alan Smith from Manchester United. That would give them the options they would want, and by offering for both players, might sweeten the deal for ManU who have already spent a ton of money, but are still looking for another striker themselves.