Aaron Connolly’s current manager says he quite likes the striker’s “tetchy” attitude.

But there is no indication as to whether Chris Wilder will look to signing the Irishman on a permanent deal.

Connolly has made a positive impression in general play for promotion-pushing Middlesbrough in the Championship, despite scoring just twice.

Wilder said: “Aaron is a little bit tetchy, and I quite like that.

“He maybe chucks his arms up in the air a few more times than I would ideally like, but I think that just shows the aggressive part of his game.

“You don’t want to take that away from him.

“Craig Bellamy was a bit like that at times. You saw him and he was an angry young man at times but that was probably when he was producing his best performances.

"It’s possibly the same with Aaron. He wants to score and do well, which is great.

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“I’d much prefer it that way than somebody who would just come up here for three months to have a bit of a break away from Brighton.”

Boro, who play Fulham tonight, hope to be back in the Premier League next season and Wilder said there were no firm recruitment plans in place.

Asked about a deal for Connolly, he said: “It’s not something we’ve thought about.

“We’re working away behind the scenes, in terms of looking at potential things that could happen, and that’s something we always have to do in terms of medium and long-term planning.”