And while this has been a challenging window so far on Teesside, there’s crucial work going on behind the scenes on a daily basis that the coaching and recruitment team believe will benefit Boro this season and in the long run.
There was delight at Rockliffe at the start of this week when Callum Brittain – long identified as the top target at right wing-back – completed his move from Blackburn Rovers.
There remains a confidence that further leading targets will arrive before the end of the window, with Boro making a big push. And Edwards, head of football Kieran Scott and head of recruitment Chris Jones are all very much on the same wavelength when it comes to what and who is needed.
Conversations between the trio take place on a daily basis but in different forms. Scott and Jones are in a Whatsapp chat with Edwards and his coaching team. That allows the recruitment staff to provide constant updates on where things are at, but also means there’s a constant and informal line of contact for all the coaches. It allows them to enquire about players who might have been passed on. On all sides, transparency is said to be key.
And what has impressed Edwards is the “clarity”.
Scott is at Rockliffe most days and Jones is also understood to have been a regular training ground presence since Edwards’ appointment. The pair watch training, which helps build the understanding of exactly what Edwards is trying to do and what he wants from his players.
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Versatility is key.
“What we’re trying to do with recruitment is bring people in that can play a couple of different positions,” revealed Edwards.
“If you have that versatility, it allows us to change either in-game or for different opposition.”
Boro have so far added three players to their squad this summer, with Alfie Jones, Abdoulaye Kante and Callum Brittain joining Edwards’ squad ahead of Saturday’s Championship kick-off.
More will follow, with Boro prioritising the capture of a left wing-back and a centre forward in the coming weeks. They will strengthen in both areas. Max Arfsten is the leading left wing-back target and while Columbus Crew don’t want to sell, the 24-year-old wants the Boro move. Talks have also taken place with forward targets.
In an ideal world, Boro would have got more business done earlier in the summer, but uncertainty surrounding the future of Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg, as well as other factors, prevented that from happening.
And with certain players – leading targets – Boro knew they would reluctantly have to play the long game.
But what has made things so much easier for all involved over the course of the last month is the fact Edwards and the recruitment staff are very much on the same page.
“We work together,” said the head coach, who has been enormously impressed by the recruitment team in place at Rockliffe.
“What’s brilliant here is that there is real clarity in how it works with Kieran and Jonesy who both work incredibly hard.
“They’ve got a real wide range of players and countries that we’re looking at. It gives us real in-depth lists that we can then whittle down before they show us.
“We can then work together to try and narrow it down to the exact targets that we want. That’s what we’ve done.
“But a lot of this work was already going on before we even arrived. They’d already done so much of it.
“We arrived and the plan was presented to us. They’re really good at what they do.
“There’s been times where we sit and have the conversations and I’ll bring a name up of a player I’m aware of. I’ll say, ‘I really like him’, and they already know everything about him. I’m yet to tell them about anyone they don’t already know.”
Another key figure is Ian Breckin.
Breckin arrived at Boro a couple of years ago after spells at AS Monaco and RB Leipzig. He was recommended to Boro by former Norwich City striker Grant Holt. Breckin had established a name for himself when it came to finding untapped talent.
And he was rewarded for his work at Boro when he was made chief scout earlier this year.
He reports into Jones but has the autonomy to go out and find players. He then feeds to Jones the players spotted and liked by the scouting team, and the head of recruitment will make a judgement and assess how the players fit into the club’s plans.
Lists of potential targets are broken down into positions, age brackets, valuation and availability.
Plans are constantly changing. There’s an awareness of the need to be flexible. It’s fair to say, for example, that Sammy Silvera was expected to move on at the start of the summer, but the Australian winger has played his way into Edwards’ plans. Edwards is also keen to give academy players an opportunity when he feels it’s deserved and Boro want to ensure they don’t block the pathway of young players. Law McCabe is very much in Edwards’ thinking.
This has been a challenging window but Edwards has been extremely encouraged by the work going on behind the scenes and the plans for the final weeks of the window and beyond.
