Tees

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Hartlepool United have completed the loan signing of teenage midfielder Cole Deeming from West Bromwich Albion.

Deeming, 19, will be on loan at Pools until 2 January, 2027 and is available for the home match against Woking on Saturday (15:00 BST).

He has played once for his parent club and spent last season on loan with Truro City in the National League and then Cheltenham Town in League Two.

"We're delighted to sign Cole," said Hartlepool head coach Lee Clark.

"He's someone we've had an eye on for a while, and we've seen how well he did at Cheltenham.

"He's also gained experience in this league with Truro, and the staff at West Brom speak really highly of him."

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Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg has said he believes Adilson Malanda's strongest position is centre-back.

The 24-year-old usually plays in the backline but has been utilised in a defensive midfield role on occasion, including in Boro's 1-1 draw at Burnley on Wednesday.

Speaking before Middlesbrough's trip to QPR on Saturday - the second of three away games for the team in six days - Hellberg said Malanda "is the centre-back and that's where I see him".

He told BBC Radio Tees: "But then of course, you need to put the best team on the pitch and I think Malanda has been absolutely brilliant.

"Some of our best games are when he plays as a six stepping up. I think his first half [at Burnley] was absolutely brilliant."

Hellberg described the Frenchman, who arrived at Boro from MLS side Charlotte FC in August 2025, as a "unique player".

He added: "In general I think his best position is centre-back, but sometimes you have to put what's best for the team and he's very versatile and can do a lot of things.

"He's an unbelievable footballer that should get a lot of praise from everyone for what he's doing and how he puts his team first, because whatever I tell him, if I told him to be goalkeeper tomorrow, he would do it."

Hellberg confirmed midfielder Myles Peart-Harris is fit to travel to Loftus Road after missing the Burnley game with a calf issue, but said the match will come too soon for injured winger Jeremy Sarmiento.

Listen to Kim Hellberg's full pre-match press conference below or on BBC Sounds.

Queens Park Rangers will look to continue their excellent start to the season as they host Middlesbrough on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The R's haven't lost a single Championship game across their opening four, with only Swansea City having a better start to the season by just two goals.

While Boro currently sit seventh on the table but failed to win away to a struggling Burnley side last time out.

• QPR have lost each of their last five league meetings with Middlesbrough, shipping at least two goals in each defeat.

• Middlesbrough have won each of their last three league visits to QPR, as many as their first 26 beforehand (D11 L12).

• QPR have won more points from losing positions than any other side in the Championship this season (6), coming from behind for two of their three wins so far.

• Middlesbrough are winless in their last six away league games, though five of these have been draws and their last victory came at QPR in March (4-0).

• No side has had more shots in the Championship this season than either QPR or Middlesbrough (70), while the Hoops have had more shots on target than anyone else (26).

We asked for your thoughts after Burnley's 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough stretched their winless run to start the Championship season to four games.

The Clarets remain 23rd in the table on two points, while Boro are fifth with two wins, one draw and a loss.

Here are some of your comments:

Burnley fans

Andy: Better in the second half but Middlesbrough were easily the better side. Too many passes went astray, too many tackles lost and no striker worthy of the name. Satpaev the best player again meaning we will probably transfer him in January so the owners can make more money. We should look at the free agents, but so disappointing there are no English players in our starting line-up.

Gav: First half the old habits crept in with a cheap goal and lack of effort. We looked like a team that had never played together (which is broadly what we are). Second half was a totally different story. Played well, with a high tempo against a good side in Boro. More confidence and we could have nicked it.

Richard: It's far too early to judge Nicky Hayen and his new squad, but our second-half performance today coupled with our overall performance against West Ham on the opening day bode well for a successful season. Our young loanee Satpaev looks like a wonderful signing and Amdouni had his best second half in a Claret shirt.

Andie: Second half obviously better on the night, but even the first half showed some improvement (not least we didn't concede two goals in the opening five minutes!). New signings looked hopeful, especially Satpaev, and I'm hopeful for Reo Hatate. So, hoping we improve - we need to!

Mark: We were terrible first half. But played a lot better second half - we played like a team with confidence. Satpaev had another good game. We really need to work on our shooting with the strikers, but Flemming is going to be missed. I just hope we can sign a good striker on the free agent list.

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Middlesbrough fans

Martin: Boro should have been out of sight by half-time and poor closing down gave them the goal. Normally, we'd be happy with a point away but should have been all three. We're still settling in and we've got two or three players to come in and make a big difference, then watch us go.

Todo: Need to beat teams that are low on confidence, coming off the back of a good win ourselves.

Buzz: Too slow in getting to the last third then we stop and play it back to the halfway line. We are a team of crabs, sideways... sideways... zzzzzzz… UTB.

Steve: Typical Boro - clueless in front of goal.

Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg spoke to BBC Radio Tees after their draw against Burnley.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.