Fulham are set to miss out on the signing of Rodrigo Muniz, with the forward closing in on a move to Championship rivals Middlesbrough, according to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

What's the story?

Muniz has caught the eye with some strong performances for Brazilian side Flamengo recently, and it appears that they have not gone unnoticed.

The forward has been with Flamengo's first-team since 2021 and has scored five goals in 24 appearances in total for them, with all of those goals coming in last year's campaign.

Fulham have been locked in a transfer tussle with Middlesbrough over a potential agreement for Muniz, although AS Roma are potentially eyeing a late move for the 20-year-old as they look to find a suitable replacement for Edin Dzeko, who departed in favour of a move to Inter Milan this summer.

But Di Marzio also claims that Middlesbrough are 'closing in' on a deal to sign Muniz this summer, which is likely to be a frustrating update for Fulham's supporters.

Fulham will have to act swiftly to find an alternative to Muniz

Fulham already have some strong options available to them in attack, with Aleksandar Mitrovic being their 'go-to' option both in their promotion-winning campaign in the 2019/20 season, and whilst they were in the Premier League.

Josh Maja also arrived at Craven Cottage during last year's campaign, and will be hoping he can fire them back into the top-flight at the first time of asking this term.

But Marco Silva is evidently keen to add further depth and quality to his attacking options this summer, with Muniz being one of Fulham's main transfer targets.

The forward has received glowing praise from fans and pundits over in Brazil, with the forward being rated as the eighth-best player in Brazil last season, according to Sofascore's rating system, with the 20-year-old having an average rating of 7.16 for his performances during last year's campaign.

To lose out to a fellow Championship side on a transfer target is always going to be frustrating, and it'll be interesting to see which players Fulham target as an alternative to Muniz this summer, although their supporters will be fuming at the fact that they've lost out to Middlesbrough in the race to sign the forward, as Boro finished tenth in the second-tier standings last term.

With the transfer window set to slam shut on 31st August though, the Cottagers will have to make swift movements in their efforts to sign new players for the 2021/22 campaign.

Fulham are set to return to action this weekend, when they take on Huddersfield Town, in a match they'll be looking to pick up three points from at the John Smith's Stadium.