Alex Gilbert completed a deadline day Middlesbrough exit as he joined League One side Charlton Athletic on loan until the end of the season.

A straight loan with no purchase option, Boro still see a big future for the attacking midfielder and are sending him to Charlton in the hope he continues his development by playing regularly in the second half of the season. Hampered by an injury in the first half of the season, he's struggled for game-time throughout his stay on Teesside thus far.

In total, he's made only 23 Boro appearances since joining from Brentford B in the summer of 2023, of which, only five have been starts. And with Boro bolstering attacking options this month with the signings of Morgan Whittaker and Samuel Iling-Junior, they felt able to let Gilbert head out on loan to get more game-time.

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On completing the move, Gilbert told the Charlton club website: "I'm buzzing to finally get it done and finally be down here. I'm massively looking forward to Saturday. Charlton's obviously a big club and from what I've heard the stadium's really nice, so I'm looking forward to playing in front of all the fans."

Emphasising Boro's desire to develop the 23-year-old for the future, Addicks boss Nathan Jones said: "I'm delighted to have him. We’ve been looking to add more quality in the final third and Alex provides that. He comes with decent pedigree having played in a very good Championship side this season, who trust us to further his development. We don’t really like taking players on loan, but when an opportunity comes up to add real quality, like this, we have to take it."

Though he's struggled for game-time at the Riverside, Gilbert has shown his potential in some big moments, largely from the bench. He set up a late equaliser at Southampton last Easter and came off the bench just recently on New Year's Day at Hull City to score a dramatic late winner. With Charlton sixth in League One and chasing promotion, their hope is that Gilbert can provide those kind of moments for them.

Technical director Andy Scott added: "Our focus in this window has been on streamlining the squad to ensure Nathan has players that are going to contribute to the run-in and adding real quality to our team that improves us.

"We’ve been chasing Alex for a while now and we’re really pleased he’s joined us. We believe he has the ability to positively impact the team as he has done a number of times for Middlesbrough in the Championship. He has great quality in the final third, gives us something different in those forward positions and we’re looking forward to watching him in action for Charlton."