Championship top-six rivals West Brom managed to finalise a late deal to sign Adam Armstrong on loan, after Middlesbrough had decided against pursuing a move earlier in the day.

West Brom faced a nervous wait on Tuesday morning as the EFL made a decision on if the loan transfer paperwork was completed before Monday evening’s deadline. In the end, they got the green light and Tony Mowbray secured a second reunion with the Tyneside-born striker, having previously worked with him at Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers.

The striker has an incredible Championship record, having scored 80 goals, including the three goals he scored in last season’s play-offs to send Southampton back up to the Premier League. He’s netted 15-plus goals in each of his last three full campaigns in the second tier.

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With that in mind, he’s an obvious marquee signing for Mowbray’s side, who currently sit above Boro in the Championship play-off places. They were in need of a striker after losing Josh Maja to injury just before Mowbray’s appointment.

Interestingly, with Boro in the market for a striker late in the window after Emmanuel Latte Lath’s now-confirmed move to Atlanta United, they were contacted about the possibility of signing Armstrong too. The 27-year-old would have been keen on a return to the north east.

However, at that stage in the day, with Boro close to finalising a loan deal for Kelechi Iheanacho, Southampton were asking for Boro to pay 100% of his considerable wage package at St Mary’s, as well as a big loan fee. Despite obvious attraction in the potential to sign Armstrong, Boro felt their deal for Ineahacho represented better value for money, and protects them in the longer term, as far as having more money to replace Latte Lath in the summer - be that through making Iheanacho’s loan a permanent move or otherwise.

In the end, West Brom have agreed a deal with Southampton that’s understood to be better than what Boro were being offered early on in the day. Cash-strapped this month, the Baggies were helped by the sale of academy goalkeeper Alex Palmer to Ipswich Town, and are understood to be paying a loan fee as well as a considerable percentage of his wage, but not all of it.

There was always a chance that the Saints would soften their stance and make the deal a little more financially viable for Boro, or whoever else had the nerve to wait. Ultimately though, with Boro in desperate need of replacing Latte Lath, it was a risk they weren’t willing to take, with the Express and Star in the Midlands claiming West Brom’s negotiations to sign the striker only started at 10 pm, ahead of the deadline an hour later - aided by a deal sheet to extend the deadline. Even then, the deal was only just completed in time.

West Brom sporting director Andrew Nestor said: “We are pleased to welcome Adam to The Hawthorns for the rest of the season. He has extensive experience in the Championship and a proven goalscoring record. Adam is an ideal fit for our squad and very much suits our style.”

Armstrong wasn’t the only Southampton player Boro had conversations about in the final week of the window. Desperate to sign a midfielder after missing out on Glen Kamara to Saudi side Al-Shabab, Boro made enquiries about Will Smallbone too.

However, with the Ireland international only recently returning from injury and appearing in Southampton’s last four Premier League games, he decided he wants to stay at St Mary’s and fight for his place for the remainder of the season, rather than drop down to the Championship.

Not wanting to do any more loan deals after capturing Samuel Iling-Junior from Aston Villa late in the window to take them up to five - the maximum you’re allowed in any match-day squad - Boro also asked Liverpool about the availability of Tyler Morton. When the Reds quoted a fee worth over £10m, Boro were forced to walk away.