Boro and Wrexham aim to be competitive again

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Phil Parkinson believes Middlesbrough's summer transfer business so far shows Kim Hellberg's side are intent on being as competitive as possible this season.

Boro narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Hull City in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May.

Hayden Hackney, last season's English Football League Championship player of the season, was sold to Everton for a base fee of at least £16m.

Boro are also expected to bank at least £20.4m for Morgan Rogers' switch from Aston Villa to Chelsea as a result of a sell-on clause they had following his move to Villa Park in 2024.

They have heavily reinvested in their squad as Hellberg (pictured above) prepares for his first full season at the club, with Jeremy Sarmiento, Myles Peart-Harris, Kyle Joseph, Will Lankshear, Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten among those to make the move to Boro this summer.

"They've spent quite a bit, but obviously they've brought a lot in for Hackney and they've got a sell-on clause as well for Rogers, so they've brought in money," said Parkinson.

"But obviously they're looking to spend it and make themselves competitive again.

"I think they're like us. They know the demands of the division and they're trying to create a squad to be competitive like we are."

The duo meet at Riverside Stadium in the opening round of the EFL Cup tonight (20:00 BST).

Wrexham drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough in the first meeting between the sides in the past season.

The reverse fixture at the Racecourse Ground on the final day of the regular season also finished level, a 2-2 draw ending the Red Dragons' play-off hopes.

Midfielder George Thomason - a regular at left wing-back last season - believes his side have already demonstrated they are more than a match for Boro.

"We know they're a very possession-based team, so we're under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game," said the 25-year-old.

"They're still going to want to get into their rhythm and flow, but we know we matched them both home and away last year, they were both really tight games.

"So I expect it to be another one and we'll go out there, do our best to win and give them a good game."

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