MIDDLESBROUGH have made a loan offer for Kenneth Zohore, with Neil Warnock confirming he wants to sign two new strikers before the transfer window closes.

Free agent Yaya Sanogo remains another attacking option, with Boro officials having held a series of talks with the former Arsenal forward, but Zohore has emerged as Warnock’s number one option as he looks to bolster his attack.

The pair worked together at Cardiff City, with Zohore’s goals a major factor in the Bluebirds’ promotion to the Premier League, but the 26-year-old Dane has subsequently moved on to West Brom.

He struggled for game time as the Baggies won promotion themselves last season, and with Slaven Bilic lining up a move for Huddersfield Town striker Karlan Grant, his opportunities in the top-flight next term are expected to be extremely limited.

Ideally, West Brom would like to sell Zohore and recoup a significant portion of the £8m they spent to sign him last summer, but with suitors willing to pay anything like that sum in short supply, the hierarchy at the Hawthorns are increasingly receptive to the offer of a season-long loan.

“He’s (Zohore) a good player,” said Warnock, ahead of Middlesbrough’s season-opening Carabao Cup tie with Shrewsbury Town this evening. “We did ever so well with him. When I turned up at Cardiff, they wanted me to get rid of him and give him a free transfer.

“I think everyone knows that he played two-thirds of a season for me, and was outstanding and helped us get promotion. Now, he’s got a very lucrative contract in the Premier League I would imagine, with West Brom, and good luck to him.”

Boro’s attackers have been in fine form in pre-season, with Britt Assombalonga scoring in friendly games against Plymouth Argyle and Newcastle United, and fellow forward Ashley Fletcher also looking sharp.

Youngster Stephen Walker is available to help supplement the squad, but with Rudy Gestede having left in the final stages of last season, Warnock accepts he is extremely short of numbers up front.

“I need a couple of strikers because you’ve got to have at least four strikers in the Championship,” he said. “I do need at least a couple more in the squad.

“I’ve got one or two younger lads, but I also think you need experienced lads at this level. I’d like a midfield player, and then probably one more position just to make sure we’ve got the numbers.”

Warnock has endured a frustrating few weeks, with Boro missing out on a succession of targets despite feeling they were close to completing a deal.

Kieffer Moore rejected a move to the Riverside in order to join Cardiff, while Charlie Goode chose to join Brentford despite Boro having an offer accepted by his former club, Northampton Town.

Joe Williams opted for Bristol City ahead of Boro when he completed a move away from Wigan, but Warnock insists he is not too downhearted by the transfer setbacks.

He has assembled an alternative set of targets in the last few weeks, and feels he could actually benefit from having to start afresh.

“I’ve missed out on a few, but I’m not really worried if I’m honest,” said Warnock. “I’ve always been like that – if I miss out on a player because he goes somewhere else, I always think it’s his loss. We’ll move on to the next one. We’re still looking at some good players. We’re not rushing into it, but I’m optimistic we might get one next week and then two or three more before the deadline.

“When one door closes, another one opens, and sometimes the light is brighter. I’m quite excited with the ones we’re looking at signing now. They probably weren’t our choice originally, but I think things might have worked out in our favour. I know it’s not what I originally wanted, I wanted four in before we started training, but I don’t think we could have done any more than we’ve done in these last few weeks.”

Rather than blame Boro’s recruitment department for the lack of success on the transfer front, Warnock feels too many agents are failing to grasp the reality of football’s new financial outlook.

“I had a striker that I quite liked at the start of the window,” he said. “I know the agent, who’s a good man, I like him. I asked him about him, and the striker wanted £35,000-a-week. I said, ‘Well that’s beyond us, we can’t afford that’.

“They said, ‘But he’s a free transfer so there’s no transfer fee, so we’re going to get that figure’. I just said, ‘Well, good luck to you’. I’ve been offered him this week for £15,000-a-week. People haven’t been in the real world.”