Thursday Sep 29 2005 13:46
Middlesbrough have signed their third player of the week as former
Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has agreed a two-year deal with the club.
Boro have beaten off competition from Fulham to sign the 32-year-old Dutch international, who follows Michael Reiziger and Mark Viduka in moving to the Riverside Stadium.
Hasselbaink believes the revamped Boro squad are now capable of surprising many teams and is excited by his move to the club.
"I heard a few weeks ago that Boro were interested in signing me," he said.
"We definitely want to be in Europe and with the players we've got it's a possibility to aim for a European spot.
"I want to end the season in as high a place as possible, definitely a UEFA Cup place and maybe even a Champions League spot.
"With the squad at Middlesbrough now I think we'll surprise a few people this season. It's exciting times here.
"I want to win games for Middlesbrough and climb up the table."
Hasselbaink was released by Chelsea earlier this month after having the final year of his contract paid up.
He had been with Stamford Bridge for four years, netting 70 goals in 136 Premiership outings for the club.
He had previously starred in England with Leeds United and also enjoyed a productive season in La Liga with Atletico Madrid in 1999-2000.
Hasselbaink netted 18 goals for Chelsea last season, but became unhappy at the squad rotation policy of former boss Claudio Ranieri.
Meanwhile, Boro have denied that they have received an offer from West Brom for midfielder Jonathan Greening.
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