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Returning loan players can help solve Middlesbrough problem after successful spells elsewhere
Before even making final decisions on which Middlesbrough players he might look to sell this summer, Michael Carrick has a sextet-shaped whole in his squad.
The Boro head coach admitted after the final game of the season that it was sad that this was the last time the special group would be together as one. More specifically on the six loan players, he conceded that was the problem with such deals, with the majority of the loanees proving successful in their time on Teesside and now needing to be replaced if Boro are to compete again next year.
But just as loanees depart, Boro do have some promising loan players returning from spells of varying degrees of success, who might just help ease the burden of what otherwise might have to be another sizeable summer rebuild at the Riverside. Particularly after watching how much injury afflicted his side in the final month of the season, Carrick will understand the importance of depth.
READ MORE: Middlesbrough squad depth analysed heading into summer transfer window
In attack, Boro will be losing the highly impactful Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey, and to a lesser extent Rodrigo Muniz. Returning will be Josh Coburn, Matthew Hoppe and Cal Kavanagh. At left-back they’ve lost Ryan Giles, but have Hayden Coulson returning from Aberdeen. In between the sticks they lose Zack Steffen but welcome back Swindon Player of the Year Sol Brynn and finally in midfield lose Alex Mowatt, but welcome back Sierra Leone international Kamil Conteh.
Attack is perhaps where the biggest opportunities lie. In losing Aston Villa duo Archer and Ramsey, Boro are losing two significant players to their free-scoring form throughout February and March, and they won’t be easily replaced. Archer, in particular, transformed the look of Boro’s forward line following his introduction to the side after the defeat to Sunderland in January.
Hoppe will hope that, with a full summer’s pre-season under his belt that he wasn’t afforded last year, he can finally make the positive impression and become the first-team player he hoped to be when he moved from RCD Mallorca last summer. And everybody on Teesside will be aware of Coburn’s capabilities in front of goal, with his successful ten-goal spell at Bristol Rovers serving as an ideal foundation to build upon next season.
Given Boro’s ambitions and the weight of Archer’s impact, however, it’s far more likely that both can return to be good squad options for Boro, though not necessarily regular starters. The last month of the campaign need serve as a timely reminder of the need for that squad depth.
While striker will always carry that weight of significance to any side, perhaps just as important for Boro this summer will be replacing Steffen. The Manchester City goalkeeper divided opinion for much of his spell on Teesside, but he grew on more and more as appreciation and knowledge for how Carrick wanted to play, and how important Steffen was to that, increased.
Given his wages at the Etihad, Boro are highly unlikely to land the American for a second season, and will therefore have to think about replacing him. Liam Roberts proved an excellent second choice thanks to his character, but seems unsuited to Carrick’s style given his own admission that distribution is the weaker side of his game.
Academy graduate Brynn returns from a really successful loan spell at League Two side Swindon Town, where he was voted Player of the Year. There are high hopes for the 22-year-old at Boro, but will he be ready yet to step up as number one given the ambitions and pressure? He will no doubt get an opportunity in the early stages of the summer to prove himself.
Coulson’s comeback could be one of the more interesting stories of the summer. The left-back, a regular under now-assistant coach Jonathan Woodgate three years ago, appeared to be heading for the exit door when a second successive season out on loan was negotiated last summer. His Aberdeen spell was to take him to the end of his Boro contract.
But his form in Scotland plus the change in management and thus playing style at Boro, prompted a new contract for Coulson and a chance of turning around his fortunes on Teesside this summer. Giles’ exit leaves a big hole in the side, and while the club remain hopeful they might be able to negotiate a permanent deal to bring Giles back to the Riverside, Coulson appears a more-suited deputy to the role than Marc Bola, who has just 12 months remaining on his Boro contract.
Finally, Mowatt may not have been a regular last season but came to prominence towards the end of the season as Jonny Howson missed the last four games through injury, while Hayden Hackney was forced out wide for a few games before that too.
Boro signed Dan Barlaser in January and while the Tynesider has been afforded time to settle without being thrust into the team so quickly, the summer will be an important one for him in getting up to speed with both the tactical expectations and the intensity of Boro’s play in order to have a bigger impact next season.
Howson recently turned 35, but shows no signs of slowing down yet and was therefore handed a further 12-month extension on his Boro deal to play on next season. Despite that, there is an appreciation at the club that the skipper can’t go on forever and they will need a replacement for him eventually.
Offering a little more balance to the midfield with his defensive-mindedness than the more positive Hayden Hackney and Barlaser, the big question this summer will be whether they look to recruit Howson’s long-term replacement externally, or if they put faith in a young academy player to fulfil that role in the years ahead.
Howson’s ability to play another year would potentially give one youngster a chance to have a season similar to Barlaser’s in which they play more of a backup role to be mentored by the veteran before eventually stepping up to fill his boots. Boro have some talented young midfielders at the club, and perhaps the most exciting is Conteh, who joined last summer from Watford and already has international pedigree.
He impressed everyone during his loan spell at Gateshead this season and, en route to helping the club to National League safety and a Wembley cup final, was voted Fans’ Player of the Year. It’s a big jump from National League to the Championship, but the 20-year-old appears physically capable, while it’s worth remembering Hackney suffered relegation from League Two with Scunthorpe this time last year.
It looks more likely that, for now at least, returning loanees could provide added depth to the Boro squad. There is always the hope that you end up with a first-team-ready gem like Hackney, but there is no need to put that kind of pressure or expectation on them initially when Boro’s ambitions are so lofty. As Hackney proved though, if you take the opportunity when given, Carrick will put his faith in you.
With plenty of talented young players already at the club potentially able to provide squad depth if given the opportunity and taking them, it can help solve the issue of quantity as far as Carrick’s squad is concerned. It then allows the head coach and the recruitment team to focus on what they want to focus on – quality.
Rather than the huge squad overhauls of seasons gone by, the hope is to focus recruitment on players ready to play regular first-team football and make a big impact immediately. You then create a conveyor belt for talent with the aid of the academy and young players slowly growing into those roles if good enough.
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