Monk’s revamp not finished yet

GARRY Monk is set to continue the complete rebuilding of his Boro line-up with the arrival of at least another two faces.

Boro have agreed the deal to bring in Birmingham City’s defender Ryan Shotton and are completing the loan signing of Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker.

If both of these players become firstteam regulars, then Monk will soon be fielding a Boro side containing EIGHT changes from last season.

It represents a massive overhaul, which has taken place quickly and efficiently, with the full support of chairman Steve Gibson.

Monk has already brought in a completely new attacking unit, while the departure of Marten De Roon finalises his changes in midfield.

It’s probably no surprise that the best three players from last season – Ben Gibson, George Friend and Adam Clayton – seem to have clung to their roles in Monk’s line-up.

Boro have been negotiating with Chelsea to take Baker on a two-year loan.

The 22-year-old highly regarded midfielder has just returned to Stamford Bridge following two years in the Eredivisie with Vitesse Arnhem.

He scored 20 goals in 73 appearances with the Dutch side and was a regular member of their three-man midfield.

When Jose Mourinho was in charge at Chelsea, the Special One claimed that Baker would eventually become a full England international. Lewis has won 17 Under-21 caps so far.

Early this year, Baker was named in a national newspaper’s list of the top ten rising stars in British football.

It is believed that he could have gone to a Premier League side but preferred to link up with Boro, where he is likely to maintain a regular place if his form holds up.

In fact it appears that Monk wants to sign Baker as a straight replacement for De Roon, though Baker is arguably a more enterprising type of player than the Dutchman.

Birmingham have revealed that the deal has been agreed for the 28-year-old Shotton to move to Boro, but the Midlands club are currently holding fire on completing t h e transfer forms. Blues manager Harry Redknapp wants a replacement Boro have agreed a deal for Birmingham defender Ryan Shotton (left) signed up before he will allow Shotton to move to Teesside.

Shotton will be an interesting signing because he can operate comfortably in a number of positions.

He is essentially a right-back, but at 6ft 3in can play at centre-back. In fact, he is also used occasionally as a makeshift centre-forward.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Monk will bring in more new faces before the transfer window closes, espe- cially if other players move out of the Riverside.

Bearing in mind the massive changes, it’s only natural that this revamped Boro line-up will need a little more time before it can create the togetherness which is crucial for a promotion campaign.

However, Boro cannot afford to be playing catch-up at any stage.

So they need to collectively show their mettle by rattling up as many early points as possible.