Preston North End star is now Middlesbrough's nemesis after £7.5m transfer links

Emil Riis was once being linked with a move to Middlesbrough - now the Preston North End man cannot stop scoring against the Riverside club.

The Dane struck home the winner in Wednesday night's clash at Deepdale, as Ryan Lowe's side secured their third consecutive victory. Riis was on hand in the second half, to score his second goal of the season. North End's number 19 returned to action in late December, after almost a year on the sidelines with a serious knee issue.

He is now back in the team and back on the score sheet - and Riis will have headed into the Boro game with confidence high. Indeed, the 25-year-old now has six goals in total against Middlesbrough - which is more than he has scored against any other club in his career. Riis sealed the midweek win for PNE after Finn Azaz had equalised three minutes earlier.

In the 2022/23 campaign, the Dane's season was ended in January - but he had netted in another 2-1 victory over Boro, in October. In Ryan Lowe's first season as manager, Riis scored a brace at Deepdale on the final day of the season - with a 4-1 PNE win ending Chris Wilder's side's hopes of reaching the play offs.

Earlier that campaign, Riis found the back of the net at the Riverside, in a 2-1 win under Frankie McAvoy. He pounced on an error from Sol Bamba in the 81st minute, with Ched Evans having headed home the leveller. And in Riis' first season as a Preston player, he was on the score sheet in a 3-0 home win - played behind-closed-doors.

The summer after that aforementioned 4-1 victory, Danish newspaper BT reported that Riis was subject of a £7.5million bid - from an unnamed Championship club. That was thought to be Boro at the time, but the approach from Wilder's side was blocked by Preston. They went on to sign Marcus Forss and Matthew Hoppe for seven figure fees, before landing Cameron Archer on loan from Aston Villa in the January.