Emmanuel Latte Lath told what he must do after Atlanta United's Middlesbrough transfer offer
Dean Ashton has told Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath to reject a move to Atlanta United and wait for Premier League offers to come.
Atlanta United became the first club to officially table an offer to Boro for the striker this month which, including add-ons, would be worth £20 million. As of Monday morning, talks were continuing but nothing had been accepted by Boro.
It’s understood that as well as a fee that would be an MLS transfer record, the MLS outfit are said to have proposed a ‘huge salary’ for the Boro top scorer, which requires serious consideration. The 25-year-old is also the subject of interest from Premier League clubs, including Ashton’s former side West Ham, but, as yet, Atlanta’s offer is the only one on the table for Boro to consider.
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Reacting to the transfer bid, Ashton told Sky Sports: “He’s made huge strides in the last season and a half at Middlesbrough and become their main man. The problem for Middlesbrough is that seems to be the case for them as a club at the moment, as soon as they get one (doing well), as we saw with Chuba Akpom, they tend to sell.
“So it wouldn’t surprise me [Latte Lath leaving]. But I’m not sure about that move in particular. I think there will be other clubs that would certainly be interested in him.”
As things stand, Atlanta United is the only official offer on the table, but it’s not yet known if the Ivorian would entertain the move despite the significant sums of money said to be on offer to him should Boro accept the bid. Though they’ve received nothing yet, Atlanta’s move could prompt Premier League clubs into action.
Boro would still prefer to keep the striker this month, but appreciate that, should offers reach a certain level, they will have to be taken seriously given the state of the club’s finances - laid bare this week with the release of the latest accounts that show a loss of over £12m. In turn, with potential alternative targets in mind, such a move would boost Boro’s finances and their ability to strengthen their own squad.
