[ad_pod ]According to reliable West Ham news site Claret & Hugh, Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis has cooled on the idea of signing West Ham United striker Jordan Hugill on a permanent deal this summer following his season-long loan spell.

What's the word, then?

Well, the centre-forward joined the Championship club on a temporary basis for the 2018/19 campaign last summer, having only made three appearances for the east London outfit between January 2018 and the end of last term.

Despite being a regular starter under Pulis, the 26-year-old hasn't exactly set the world alight for Boro in terms of goals, scoring just the six in 26 league appearances for the Teesside outfit.

Claret & Hugh report that they are unlikely to look to make the move permanent should they achieve promotion to the Premier League, although they have been told that he will be returning to the London Stadium no matter what happens.

More bad news for West Ham

Manuel Pellegrini and the club would surely have been hoping that they had seen the last of Hugill and that they could recoup some of the £10m fee they paid Preston North End for the striker.

However, if Claret & Hugh are to be believed then that won’t be happening, and it is yet another striker blow for the east London side.

Andy Carroll is out of contract at the end of the season while Lucas Perez was reportedly left behind when the squad travelled to Marbella for a training camp this month because of his attitude.

Meanwhile, Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic were both heavily linked with exits during the January window, and it would be no surprise if we haven't heard the last of the story involving the latter even if he did recently pen a new contract.