Middlesbrough Football Club

• Nickname:Boro
• Founded:1876
• Manager:Tony Mowbray

• Ground:Riverside Stadium
• Capacity:35049

Lee tipped for bright future

22 Feb 2007 - 13:18:14

Click To Enlarge

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has tipped new signing Dong-Gook Lee to make an impact during the last quarter of the Premiership season.

Lee, 27, is poised to make his club debut in a reserve team outing this week after a series of niggling ankle injuries had prevented the South Korea striker from making his Boro bow after arriving on Teesside last month.

However, Southgate believes Lee's record of 22 goals in 64 international appearances will stand him in good stead to make the grade at Premiership level.

"He has fantastic movement and in the runs he makes, he is a different type of player to the two strikers we already have," said Southgate, referring to his existing strikeforce of Yakubu and Mark Viduka.

"He is a good threat in the air and his work-rate is very good. You look for different options as a manager and he will give us something different to the strikers we already have."

Meanwhile, injured defensive duo Chris Riggott and Stuart Parnaby as set to continue their comebacks in the second-string clash with Manchester United.