Middlesbrough are poised to trim their squad by cutting down on their firepower.
Middlesbrough are poised to trim their squad by cutting down on their attacking firepower.The impending arrival of Yakubu Aiyegbeni from Portsmouth will leave Boro boss Steve McClaren with a squad which is top-heavy with strikers.
Aiyegbeni is likely to jostle with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka for the right to be McClaren's first choice next season.
But McClaren also has several forwards waiting in the wings for a chance, with Danny Graham, Massimo Maccarone, Joseph-Desire Job, Szilard Nemeth and Malcolm Christie all on the books.
Boro chairman Steve Gibson concedes there are too many strikers at McClaren's disposal and will sanction the sale of one or more.
"You can have too big a squad," Gibson told the club's official website.
"Footballers want to play football.
"It is obvious that we can only pick two, at best three, of the forwards that we have so it is going to be difficult to keep them all happy."
Rising star Graham is likely to be safe from the cull as McClaren has tipped the teenager for a bright future on Teesside.
But the remaining quartet could all be sacrificed over the summer, with Maccarone most at threat after loan spells at Parma and Siena last season.
Christie has endured an injury-plagued time at The Riverside Stadium, while Nemeth and Job have never convinced as regular first-team starters.
