Championship transfer news: Middlesbrough announce signing of former Ajax starlet

Middlesbrough have announced that they have signed NEC Nijmegen winger Sontje Hansen.

Having suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at home to League One side Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, it became clear that Rob Edwards' squad was short on depth and quality.

Focus has been placed on improving the defensive and midfield areas of the pitch since Edwards' arrival, but attacking arrivals are inevitable.

On Wednesday morning, Middlesbrough confirmed that they have completed the notable addition of Hansen on a four-year contract.

Who is Sontje Hansen?

Most recently, Hansen has been plying his trade for NEC, putting himself in contention for a high-profile move at some point in his career.

A total of 12 goals and eight assists have come from 64 Eredivisie outings for NEC, his chosen destination having failed to establish himself at Ajax.

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Hansen came through the youth setup at the Dutch giants, chipping in with 25 goals and 22 assists from 122 appearances for the Under-19s and Under-21s.

However, he would only make two senior outings for Ajax, accumulating 13 minutes across two brief outings in 2019-20.

He also earned seven caps for Netherlands Under-21s, his most recent outing coming in March, but he missed out on the squad for the recent European Championship.

Right signing at the right time?

Middlesbrough are said to have paid in the region of £3m to get a deal over the line, and the signing is needed when they have not scored from open play across two matches.

Morgan Whittaker, Delano Burgzorg and Tommy Conway were the front three in the 1-0 win over Swansea City in the Championship last weekend, and will likely retain their places for the trip to Millwall on Saturday.

That said, Boro will not have shelled out a substantial fee without intending on handing Hansen plenty of starts, and the 23-year-old could be thrown straight into the team.

Edwards opted against throwing Micah Hamilton and Marcus Forss into his first XI against Doncaster, suggesting that he does not necessarily have faith in them in the long term.