The Sun reported this morning that Roy Hodgson was close to concluding a deal to make Middlesbrough’s Jeremie Aliadiere his first signing of the summer.

The paper reckon that Aliadiere, 26, will join Fulham for a fee of around £1.5m. The French striker has hardly been prolific at the Riverside and only managed three goals last season – one of which came against Yeovil in the League Cup – as Boro were relegated. His overall record for Middlesbrough is even less impressive. Aliadiere scored just eight goals in 65 appearances after Boro paid Arsenal £2m for his services in June 2007.

On this evidence, it’s difficult to see how Aliadiere would be an upgrade on our current misfiring striker Bobby Zamora. If we were to take our pick from Gareth Southgate’s squad, it would seem that Turkish international Tuncay or midfielder Gary O’Neill, who would reportedly be keen on a move down south, would be a better fit.