Middlesbrough have received what is a club-record fee as the sale of Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta United was officially confirmed the day after transfer deadline day.

The striker moves to the MLS after 18 months at Boro, in which time he scored 29 goals in total. He has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, with the option for a further 12 months. It comes after Boro agreed what is understood to be a £22.5 million deal last week. As well as a record-fee received by Boro, it is also an MLS record fee for an incoming transfer.

It represents a huge profit for Boro on the 26-year-old, who joined Boro in the summer of 2023 from Italian Serie A outfit Atalanta for a fee of just over £4 million. It comes after recently-released financial accounts, which showed a loss of over £12m in the period covering last season, highlighted the importance of player trading.

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Though Latte Lath's exit comes after the British deadline, Boro were able to move before their window closed to secure a replacement. Kelechi Iheanacho was signed on loan from Sevilla until the end of the season to replace Latte Lath, while they were also able to bolster attacking options further with the addition of Samuel Iling-Junior on loan from Aston Villa. However, despite their best efforts, they were unable to strengthen their midfield and defensive options.

In terms of the next steps for Boro post-Latte Lath, the chances of signing Iheanacho, 28, permanently, have not been ruled out. His move is a straight loan with no purchase option included because Boro have managed to negotiate what they feel is a good deal, as they only a percentage of his hefty wage in Spain.

Things didn't work out for Iheanacho at Sevilla and while that wage could be a sticking point, there's a feeling that a permanent move could be brokered in the summer that worked for all parties, if this move proves a success. However, there's an element of protection for Boro in that, if it doesn't, or Iheanacho opts not to return, they haven't overspent this month and left themselves without the money to source a longer-term replacement in the summer transfer window when more options are always available.

On Iheanacho's arrival, Michael Carrick said: “He’s not a replacement [for Latte Lath]. It’s never one player for one player. It’s a collective responsibility. Tommy [Conway] has scored a good number of goals when he’s been fit this season - good minutes per goal ratio. We’ve got enough throughout the frontline - creating goals, scoring goals. That’s not the issue of why we aren’t getting enough points.

“We’re delighted to get Kelechi in. His quality is pretty obvious and he knows what it takes to be successful at this level from last year. He played in the Premier League for a number of years. He’s a quality, quality player and we’re really happy to have him.”

On Latte Lath, Atlanta United’s chief soccer officer & sporting director Chris Henderson said: He’s a forward with excellent pace and good goal-scoring instincts. His ability to stretch the field will add another dimension to our attack. At 26 years old, he’s entering the prime years of his career and has already shown his goal-scoring ability in multiple leagues in Europe."