MIDDLESBROUGH have lodged an interest in Venezia striker Thomas Henry, although the Teessiders will not be going anywhere near the €9m asking price that has been touted in the Italian media.

Boro boss Chris Wilder is looking to recruit at least two new forwards this summer, having seen Andraz Sporar, Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun all leave since the end of last season.

Henry has been on the Teessiders’ transfer radar for a couple of years, with his performances for Belgian side OH Leuven having seen his profile soar.

The 27-year-old Frenchman was the second-highest scorer in the Belgian top-flight in the 2020-21 season, scoring 21 goals, with his form earning him a move to Venezia in the summer of 2021, following the Italian club’s promotion to Serie A.

Henry had been heavily linked with Celtic prior to moving to Venice, with Leuven reportedly having turned down a £7m bid from Parkhead.

The striker scored nine goals and claimed three assists in 34 appearances in all competitions as Venezia were relegated last season, with his employers’ demotion meaning he is almost certain to move on again this summer.

He is the subject of interest from Hellas Verona, who can offer the opportunity to remain in Serie A, and the Italian club have held talks with the hierarchy at Venezia.

However, Boro’s recruitment team have also held their own discussions, and are hoping to persuade Henry, who is contracted to Venezia to the summer of 2024, to swap Italy for England.

Their first task is to agree a deal with Venezia, and while there have been suggestions in Italy that Boro have bid around £7.6m, it is extremely unlikely that the Teessiders would pay anything like that much for a player who is currently due to spend next season in the Italian second tier.

Talks remain ongoing, with Boro hoping to be able to come up with an offer that would satisfy their requirements and prove acceptable to the Venezia board.

The Teessiders’ financial situation will change dramatically if Djed Spence completes his anticipated move to Tottenham shortly, but chairman Steve Gibson and chief executive Neil Bausor remain mindful of the need to remain within the financial parameters laid out by the EFL’s Financial Fair Play rules.

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While there will be money available for reinvestment once Spence signs for Spurs – the wing-back was not part of the squad that travelled to Portugal for a pre-season training camp in anticipation of him completing his move to north London shortly – the Boro hierarchy remain determined to extract the maximum possible value from their spending.

That is why talks over Dwight Gayle have stalled, with the Newcastle United striker refusing to lower his wage demands of around £40,000-a-week. Boro are adamant they will not meet Gayle’s requirements, and attempts to engineer a deal that would see the Magpies continue to fund some of the veteran’s pay packet have so far failed to result in an agreement.

Boro have also made a formal inquiry over Southampton striker Adam Armstrong, but having lost the services of Armando Broja, who was on loan at St Mary’s from Chelsea last season, the Saints are reluctant to allow another forward to leave until they have made at least one attacking addition of their own.

The Teessiders held talks with David McGoldrick earlier this summer, but the free agent opted to drop into League One to join Derby County in order to increase his chances of playing regular first-team football next season.

With Uche Ikpeazu and Chuba Akpom having been frozen out of the first-team picture, Duncan Watmore and Josh Coburn are currently the only two senior strikers on Boro’s books. Cal Kavanagh and Sonny Finch have impressed in the early stages of pre-season – the pair were both on target in Friday night’s 3-2 win over York City – but it remains to be seen whether either youngster will feature in Wilder’s plans for the new Championship season.