Middlesbrough complete signing of Patrick Bamford from Chelsea

Patrick Bamford has joined Middlesbrough from Chelsea in a deal that could be worth up to £10m. Bamford, whose loan spell at Burnley was cut short last weekend, enjoyed a successful stint with the Teessiders in the Championship two years ago.

The 23-year-old, who has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Middlesbrough, joined Chelsea from Nottingham Forest in 2012 but never made a senior appearance for the club. He scored 19 goals in 44 appearances during his first spell at the Riverside Stadium and subsequently picked up the Championship Player of the Year award.

Bamford never played a Premier League game for Chelsea but has experienced top-flight football while on loan at Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Burnley. The former England Under-21 international failed to make an impact at any of those clubs, however, with two of the three loan spells terminated early.

Nonetheless Boro boss Aitor Karanka has seen fit to bring Bamford back to north Yorkshire as he looks to bolster his striking options. The Teessiders have only scored 17 goals in 22 Premier League games this season.

Bamford is Karanka's second signing of the January transfer window, with fellow forward Rudy Gestede joining from Championship outfit Aston Villa in a deal worth £6m. Gestede, who was relegated from the Premier League with Villa last season, made his debut against Watford last weekend and in doing so bagged himself an unwanted record. The Benin forward has now gone 32 games without winning in the top-flight of English football.

Middlesbrough will hope that is the last deal they do with Chelsea this month, but the table toppers are interested in Adama Traore. Antonio Conte is believed to be an admirer of the former Barcelona youth prospect, who joined Middlesbrough from Aston Villa last summer.

If Traore did sign for Chelsea in January, he would not be able to play for them until next season. The Spanish attacker made an appearance for Villa in the Championship before joining Karanka's side and is not allowed to play for three British clubs in one season.