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The former England Under-20 international went on loan to Darlington late in that campaign to gain some senior experience where he bagged two goals in nine matches for the Quakers, Danny's form at the Riverside resulting in the award of a one-year professional contract in the summer of 2004. Graham was lucky enough to make his first team debut at Old Trafford against Manchester United in October 2004, his debut goal for the Teesiders then coming in a 2-2 home draw with Charlton Athletic in February 2005.
A two-year extension to his pro-contract was forthcoming in the summer of 2005 but with Middlesbrough's strikers in such good nick he struggled to make an impact behind such stars as Massimo Maccarone, Mark Viduka, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Aiyegbeni Yakubu and he found himself out on loan again, this time at Derby County for three months, in November 2005. Graham failed to find the net at Pride Park in 14 matches, and was loaned out again on deadline day in March 2006, joining Leeds United for the remainder of the campaign, where he again failed to score in three outings.
Danny failed to impress at Elland Road enough to earn a permanent move to West Yorkshire though and in July 2006, Middlesbrough decided to let him go to Blackpool on loan for a month at the start of the season, where he scored once in four games. So, the 21-year old now finds himself at Brunton Park for 33 days where he will be hoping to get what once looked like a highly promising career back on track. Graham goes straight into the squad for the New Years Day clash with Bradford City and has every chance of starting the game with Derek Holmes struggling to be fit due to an ankle injury picked up in the 2-1 win over Brighton.
First Team Transfers 2006-07 : Click here