With Middlesbrough closing close on a move for Kaly Sene, Tommy Conway has stated that he would welcome some more offensive competition.
Boro officials have spent the weekend in talks with Lausanne about Sene, with an agreement on the Senegalese 24-year-old now believed to be close.
Sene, who began his career in the youth ranks at Juventus, is eager to transfer to Teesside, and the Boro administration hopes he will be able to undertake a medical within the next few days.
Boro, who are also on the verge of signing Newcastle United full-back Matt Targett on a season-long loan, have seen their attacking options dwindle in recent months, with Emmanuel Latte Lath leaving for the United States in January and Josh Coburn joining Millwall this summer.
As it stands, Delano Burgzorg and Marcus Forss are the only alternatives to Conway, with the latter not even making the matchday squad for Saturday’s win over Norwich City.
Conway scored Boro’s second goal in a 2-1 win at Carrow Road, but the Scot acknowledges the need to bolster the squad in the last week of the transfer season. “Whether I’m playing or not, I’ll always have an impact on or off the pitch,” Conway remarked.
“At the end of the day, I’m a football player, and of course I want to play and contribute to the squad as much as possible. But if someone else joins, I only see it as positive depth for the team.
“We talk about it all the time, we and the lads; we believe we have a terrific squad on our hands. If we can keep everyone fit throughout the season, I believe we’ll have a decent chance.
“And the more quality we have in the squad, the more it will assist us. Hopefully, more bodies can join the squad, and we can continue to improve.”
Boro impressed for lengthy stretches in Saturday’s victory over Norwich, with Conway’s goal on the stroke of half-time coming two minutes after Finn Azaz broke the deadlock with a ferociously placed shot.
Norwich were reduced to ten men after Jacob Wright received a straight red card for a lunge at Aidan Morris, but Boro had to endure a nail-biting finish as Josh Sargent halved the Canaries’ deficit in the 85th minute.
“I was a bit squeaky on the sidelines at the end, I’m not going to lie,” Conway recalled. “I was hopeful we could hang on because I was thinking about last year and how we all felt after the game [when Boro drew 3-3 after leading 3-1].
“I didn’t want to have that feeling again, but as soon as the manager finished his debrief in there [the dressing room], the music came on and everyone started bouncing.
“We’re all relieved that we managed to hang on. Finn and I scored again; it’s as if we adore playing here. Credit to the lads, and hopefully we can extend it into next week as well.”
Boro’s players demonstrated tremendous resolve against Norwich after dug in effectively to win 3-0 at Millwall the previous week.
“There were times when we had to battle at Millwall,” Conway told BBC Tees. “I believe that’s something we’ve definitely improved at.
“As a team, we’ve increased our ability to absorb pressure and take the sting out of games when the opponent is ahead. It was the same versus Norwich; they had their moments, but I believe we controlled the game and slowed it down when necessary.
And we took our chances at the other end.” For 35 minutes in the first half, it was cagey and frantic at 100 mph. But then we had that ten-minute stretch in which we were able to rectify our out-of-possession issues and score two goals.
“I believe that’s what ultimately impacts the game, and the red card obviously plays a role. It was a little squeaky toward the end, but we were able to hold on when we may have disintegrated otherwise.”
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