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Middlesbrough’s dream summer transfer window with key contracts and transfer ins and outs
Middlesbrough players will be returning to Rockliffe Park in the next week or so for the start of pre-season training as preparations for the new season begin.
Looking to build on the solid foundations of last season where Boro made the play-offs despite such a poor start to the campaign, Michael Carrick will be hoping for a positive summer on many fronts in order to get off to the best possible start to the new campaign, and therefore not leave themselves with so much to do in the second half of the campaign.
With the transfer window now open and always the priority focus of any off-season period, naturally a dream summer for Boro involves a lot of good work in the transfer market. But there are other things that Boro will hope go their way as well. Here is the dream summer for Boro.
New contracts, starting with Chuba Akpom
There are some big players entering their final year at the club, based on their current contracts, though it would be reasonable to assume that the club would like many of them to extend their stay by signing new deals. Not doing so would mean decisions would potentially have to be made this summer, or at the latest in January, with the club no doubt keen to avoid losing players for free next summer when not by their own choice.
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The obvious priority is Chuba Akpom, who saw his initial three-year contract extended by a further 12 months last season thanks to a clause in the initial agreement when he signed from PAOK. But after the season of his career that saw him net 29 goals in total, there is understandable exterior interest in him now, and an obvious desire to tie him down to a new deal.
As well as Akpom, influential long-serving defenders Paddy McNair and Dael Fry are both entering the final 12 months of their Teesside deals this summer and will presumably be players the club would like to offer new deals to. Less certain, or important, will be the terms of Jonny Howson, Matt Crooks, Liam Roberts and Marc Bola.
But if Boro could confirm new deals for Akpom, Fry and McNair at least, it would be a really positive start to the summer, with many understandably arguing that keeping Akpom this summer will be one of the best pieces of business Boro will do.
Quality signings, and in good time
Boro are targeting an ambitious summer recruitment drive in order to strengthen Carrick’s squad for a serious promotion bid in the upcoming season. Rather than a huge squad overhaul as in recent years, the club wish to use the success of last season as a foundation from which to then focus on adding quality in order to leave the club well-placed to get back to the Premier League.
Understandably, the club would not want to make their exact summer priorities known, but at a reasonable guess, we can assume that the four regular loan players will have to be replaced, meaning a new goalkeeper, left-back, wide forward and striker will be on the wishlist. A long-term replacement for Howson is a desired target at some point in the coming windows also, while it remains to be seen if there are any other areas that Carrick has identified to be strengthened during his time in charge so far.
Players will inevitably be linked throughout the summer, and already there have been reports of interest in Ethan Galbraith and Ross Barkley despite neither featuring on the club’s wishlist. That’s the nature of the window. But one thing is for certain and that is Boro feel confident that they can attract a high calibre of player to the club this summer and plan to be ambitious.
A dream summer would see, at the very least, the above four positions filled with real quality this summer, and preferably with permanent signings too, to avoid being back at the same place in 12 months’ time. That said, Boro’s use of the loan market last season highlighted how it can be used to add quality at a level that would otherwise be unaffordable to a club in Boro’s position.
While permanent signings will be the preferred option this summer, would there realistically be many complaints if Boro were able to convince Aston Villa to send Cameron Archer back on loan for the full season, for example? You would expect not after his huge impact after joining in January.
Some outs but not key men
While Boro target incoming signings, inevitably there might have to be outgoings too in order to provide balance both in terms of squad numbers and also financially. But with that desire to challenge for promotion, the dream summer would see decent fees received for fringe players, while Boro would be able to resist offers for their key men such as Akpom, Fry and Hayden Hackney.
In a tough financial climate that sees Boro losing tens of millions of pounds on a yearly basis, the club are realistically not in a position to completely close shop, as was seen last summer when Marcus Tavernier left for Bournemouth. Though what they have done ahead of this summer is make clear to any potential buying clubs that they won’t sell for anything less than what they deem the right price.
Boro will only want players who want to be at the club and are somewhat powerless if, like with Tavernier, the player decides they want to move on. In such a scenario, you’re left either telling the player he can’t go with the risk of upsetting said player and leading to dressing room disruption, or you can do your utmost to negotiate the best possible deal.
But with noises suggesting that Akpom and Hackney are in no rush to leave Boro this summer, the club will hopefully be able to stave off potential interest and keep them at the Riverside. Instead, sales for balance in a dream summer would involve players on the fringes or considered less important to the long-term success, perhaps including some of the other players mentioned above with just 12 months left on their contracts, moving on.
It would ultimately be to their benefit too, presumably to get out and play regular football somewhere as opposed to being at Boro when not considered a regular first-team player. It’s a good group at Boro, full of players who have given so much to the club that there should be no ill will to any fringe player departing. Alas, sometimes in football, there does come a time when moving in is best for all concerned.
A solid start to the season
In the last two seasons, Boro have had a slow start to the new campaign and have ultimately changed manager in the October. On both occasions, it left them playing catch up on their rivals in their goal to challenge for promotion.
So what Boro would give for a solid start to the new season, with the fixture schedule set to be revealed on Thursday morning. To achieve that, all the above points will certainly help, as will a summer with little drama, some solid performances in the friendly games, and the squad staying as injury-free as possible.
In terms of transfers, it’s often easier said than done, but getting business done as early as possible would be of huge benefit too, though it always has to be considered that sometimes the market becomes more favourable later on, as clubs sometimes soften stances and sell players, leading to the so-called domino effect of players becoming available and moving on.
Getting players in early in order to settle and enjoy some of the pre-season in order to build sharpness and an understanding of the expectations on them tactically will always have obvious advantages. But equally, Boro won’t want to go too early and find that had they waited an extra week or two they could have got a far better player.
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