Rob Edwards and his coaching team are now more than two weeks into pre-season, with the first team staff understood to be impressed by what they’ve seen on the training pitches so far.
But there are still a number of unanswered Boro questions as pre-season gets underway.
FUTURE OF IN-DEMAND STARS
Let’s get straight to the point – what happens with Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney?
It’s no secret the pair are very much in demand, with several clubs in the Premier League and overseas interested in both.
But will they pay Boro’s price? What is Boro’s price?
Van den Berg is coming off something of an underwhelming season but dazzled in his first campaign in England and has long been tracked by some of Europe’s biggest clubs, who, like Boro, spotted his potential years ago.
He’s only just turned 21 yet has already played more than 60 Championship games, so Boro aren’t just valuing the Netherlands Under-21 international on what he is now but what he is likely to become.
And Hackney is worth even more. Here is an England Under-21 international who has captained, starred and played more than 100 games for his hometown club. Jobe’s price-tag was lifted by his surname and the fact Sunderland had just won promotion, so Boro won’t get for Hackney what Dortmund paid for Bellingham. But there’s very little to separate the players.
The chances of both staying at Boro this summer appear slim. But – and big money moves where several clubs are interested rarely play out this way – if the pair are going to move on, it would benefit Boro if it happened sooner rather than later, giving Edwards and the side clarity and the opportunity to reinvest some of the money.
RECOMMENDED READING:
TRANSFERS
There’d be an obvious knock-on effect of one or both of Hackney and van den Berg leaving, with Boro looking to strengthen their squad. At least some of what Boro want to do this summer will inevitably depend on what happens with the pair and how much is raised.
So far, no new faces have arrived at Boro this summer, but Boro stepped up their recruitment drive by tabling a bid for Callum Brittain this week. The Blackburn defender has emerged as Boro’s leading right-back target.
Several areas need work ahead of the summer deadline, which is still more than seven weeks away. And while there’s understandable frustration that Boro are yet to make a breakthrough, judgement of a transfer window should always come after the deadline.
Right-back is a top priority, with Luke Ayling the only senior option in that area after Josh Dede, who is yet to play a first team minute, went under the knife on a toe injury this week.
Centre-half is also an area that Boro’s recruitment team will look to strengthen. If van den Berg was to move on, that would leave Dael Fry, George Edmundson and Darragh Lenihan as the senior options, all good operators but all coming off the back of an injury disrupted season.
Hackney’s exit would currently leave Boro with Aidan Morris, Dan Barlaser, who is out of contract next summer, and Law McCabe, who didn’t play a Championship minute last season, as midfield options, though Brayden Johnson has impressed in pre-season and earned a place in the squad for the Portugal trip.
Boro also want to strengthen in wide attack and have obviously prioritised the signing of a striker this summer on the back of Emmanuel Latte Lath’s January exit.
JONNY HOWSON’S FUTURE
It was mid-May when Middlesbrough confirmed their retained list, and said at that stage “discussions will take place with Jonny Howson in due course”.
But the future of the midfielder remains unclear as things stand.
The fact the 37-year-old has not taken any part in the first two weeks of pre-season suggests he won’t be signing an extension and his eight-year Middlesbrough stay has come to an end, but that remains purely guesswork for now.
Should Boro keep Howson or part ways with the midfielder, who, regardless of what happens next, will be remembered ever so fondly on Teesside? There’s a case to be made for both.
There has to come a time when Boro move on and if the likes of McCabe or Johnson are going to be first team stars of the future, they need to get an opportunity.
On the flip side, Howson showed at the end of last season just how important he can still be. A lack of steel was identified as an issue last season, so taking your captain out of the squad isn’t ideal. And, amid Hackney uncertainty and Barlaser approaching the end of his deal, Boro look short in the middle of the park.
There’s not necessarily a right answer here. Both perspectives are sensible and understandable and the decision is a big one either way.
FORMATION PLAN
One answer we look certain to get in the next fortnight or so is how Edwards plans to set his Boro side up.
The head coach favoured wing-backs at Luton Town, so the inevitable presumption was that he’d go with a similar system at Boro.
That might well be the case, but it’s by no means nailed on.
Had Boro been able to strengthen at right-back by now, we’d have a better idea, from the profile of the player signed, of the plan moving forward. But until we get to see Edwards’ side in action, it remains uncertain.
Edwards had obvious success at Luton with wing-backs, but if he plays that way at Boro, what does he do with the likes of Riley McGree, Morgan Whittaker, Delano Burgzorg, Marcus Forss, Micah Hamilton and Sammy Silvera?
Well, if required, all or the vast majority of the above would likely be comfortable playing in a more central role in support of a striker.
But then Boro are known to have closely watched Sontje Hansen, a winger.
Edwards is flexible. Unlike someone like Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, he didn’t arrive with a concrete idea of how his side would play, unwilling to bend to suit the strengths of the squad.
Yes, Edwards has his preferences, of course, but one of the strengths of the head coach is his awareness and ability to adapt to get the best out of the options at his disposal.
YOUNGSTERS AND FRINGE FIGURES
Among the 27-man squad out in Portugal this week are a group of academy youngsters and several players who were on the fringes under Carrick or out on loan.
Which of those players will most benefit from the change in the dugout and play a more prominent role this season?
Edwards made it clear when he arrived that the slate was clean. He would judge the players on what he saw rather than what had gone before.
That will have been music to the ears of the likes of Alex Gilbert, who was never able to become a regular under Carrick, Hamilton, who endured a difficult first season after his move from Manchester City 12 months ago and McCabe, who didn’t get many first team opportunities after his breakthrough.
A group of youngsters impressed Edwards and his staff in the first week of pre-season and played their way into the squad for Portugal.
George McCormick will be hoping to build on his breakthrough 12 months ago, Sonny Finch has been in and around the first team for a few years now, Luke Woolston is now 20 and will want to make the next step while Johnson’s rapid rise continues having only joined from Eastbourne Borough in January.