New boy an ‘asset’ to Boro, but no pressure on him yet

Middlesbrough have an exciting player on their hands in Matthew Hoppe, according to Chris Wilder – but the veteran boss says he will not put too much pressure on the £2.5million American’s shoulders.

The 21-year-old burst on to the scene at Schalke before spending a disappointing campaign in Spain with RCD Mallorca last term.

Boro have plucked the USA striker from that frustrating spell and hope they can nurture him back to the exciting young talent which caught many eyes in the German Bundesliga.

Signing a four-year deal, Hoppe boosts Boro’s options at the top of the pitch ahead of Sunday’s visit of promotion rivals Sheffield United but Wilder will not be putting too much pressure on him immediately, having had limited time so far to assess him both in terms of current ability and conditioning.

Wilder said: “We are not going to put pressure on Matty. He’s come in as a development striker on a four-year deal.

“He’s a US international and he has a decent pedigree and background. He maybe lost his way a little bit but he’s gone for decent money in the past.

“There’s been quite a bit of talk around Matty and we know how difficult it has been to find players and sign them with big numbers on.

“He’s one we can develop and work with and he’ll get better.”

Wilder added: “He’s not going to come in on Sunday and lead the line and score a hat-trick, that’s one thing for certain.

“He needs work and we need to find out from a conditioning point of view where he’s been and what he’s done. That will take time.

“The boy wanted to come, he has a brilliant attitude, possesses pace and running ability and can score goals.

“He’s in and around the US national team and you’ve seen how they’ve progressed.

“He’s going to want to do it quicker than I’m maybe expecting him to do it but that’s a good combination and I quite like that.

“We’re looking forward to working with Matty and if he comes through quicker than what we think then we have a real asset on our hands.”

The boss went on: “The number bandied about that we paid for him is a totally false number. This is a great deal for the club in terms of what we’ve paid for him and the period over which we pay the fee.

“From that, we have a really good player we can work with.”

Hoppe was introduced to the 9,500 Middlesbrough fans in attendance at the Riverside to watch a youthful side lose 1-0 to Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.

The 21-year-old striker then took his seat to watch the game.

He’s one that we can develop and work with,

and he’ll get better

Chris Wilder