MIDDLESBROUGH continue to hold discussions with Yannick Bolasie and Mo Besic, and are hoping to tie up loan deals for the Everton duo before the weekend.

Both players have been at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground in the last 48 hours to hold talks with manager Tony Pulis and chief executive Neil Bausor.

Bolasie spent the majority of Monday in the North-East, while Besic returned to Merseyside to tie up some loose ends relating to his contract at Everton.

It is hoped that loan deals for both players will be finalised in the next few days, with the Boro hierarchy understood to be discussing the possibility of contractual agreements that would potentially result in permanent transfers next summer.

Pulis has been calling for reinforcements to his squad ever since Boro were unable to make any additions ahead of the transfer deadline for permanent signings on August 9.

Despite his side sitting at the top of the Championship table after claiming ten points from their opening four matches, the Boro boss is adamant the current squad lacks both the depth and quality required to sustain a promotion push over the next nine months.

The arrival of Bolasie and Besic would go a long way towards rectifying those weaknesses, with both players having featured prominently on his wanted list all summer.

Boro held a number of discussions over Bolasie at the start of the month, but with Burnley and Crystal Palace also having an expressed an interest, the 29-year-old winger opted to rule out a move to the Championship while there was still a chance of a Premier League club signing him.

That did not happen, and while a number of weekend reports suggested Bolasie was still reluctant to drop out of the top-flight, Boro officials were always confident he could be persuaded to leave Goodison Park in search of regular playing time.

Aston Villa have also held talks with Everton officials, but Boro are understood to be offering a more attractive financial proposition than their Championship rivals and Bolasie flourished while playing under Pulis at Palace. As a result, the winger agreed to travel to the North-East for talks, although he could yet hold similar discussions with other clubs.

A DR Congo international who boasts extensive Premier League experience with both Palace and Everton, Bolasie would effectively be a replacement for Adama Traore, who left Middlesbrough earlier this summer in an £18m move to Wolves.

His arrival would result in renewed speculation linking Martin Braithwaite with a possible move away from the Riverside, although Pulis will be understandably reluctant to lose the Denmark international given his explosive start to the season.

Braithwaite, who is keen to return to France after successful spells with both Toulouse and Bordeaux, has scored three goals in Boro’s opening four Championship matches.

Besic would add some competition and experience in midfield, and knows the Boro squad well after his loan spell on Teesside last season.

He was close to making a permanent move on deadline day, only for talks to collapse when his representative repeatedly moved the financial goalposts of a proposed deal.

That infuriated the Middlesbrough hierarchy, but a new set of talks have proved more productive and all sides are now hoping a resolution is close.

Like Bolasie, Besic has not featured in Everton’s opening two games of the Premier League season, and Toffees boss Marco Silva has told the Bosnian he does not have a future at Goodison Park.

Meanwhile, Traore has revealed Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has told him not to adapt his free-running style following his move to the Premier League.

Traore made his Wolves debut at the weekend, coming off the bench in the second half of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester City.

Under Pulis, the former Barcelona trainee was encouraged to take risks and express himself, even if it meant occasionally conceding possession and putting his team on the back foot.

Wolves cannot afford to give the ball away in the top-flight, but Traore insists he has not been told to curtail his natural instincts in his new environment.

“Nuno said I need to (play) how I am,” said the former Boro wide man. “My power, my velocity, my one-v-one, everything I can. I have learned a lot of things in the game.

“I think I need to keep working, and do what the manager says, be better and help the team the best way I can.

“I’m looking forward to the Premier League challenge, and to the first win. After that first win, everything will be okay.

“Wolves, the players, the team – everyone is amazing. We’ll have very good times and very good moments. I’m happy to play. We didn’t win (against Leicester) and it’s not the best way for my first game, but we need to pick up the positive things, keep going, and everything will be fine.”