Middlesbrough signed forward Lukas Nmecha on loan from Manchester City in January 2020, but he had a forgettable few months on Teesside.
Boro started the 2020 January transfer window halfway between a play-off push and a relegation battle in the Championship, and manager Jonathan Woodgate was looking for additions to help ensure the second half of their season would be exciting for the former.
As a result, Middlesbrough fans were ecstatic when the club quickly secured a loan agreement for Manchester City striker Lukas Nmecha on January 3, who will stay at the Riverside until the end of the season.
The day before Nmecha arrived, Woodgate negotiated a loan agreement for fellow City starlet Patrick Roberts, and both were anticipated to make a significant impact on Middlesbrough’s season.
However, Nmecha’s tenure on Teesside would be one to forget for everyone involved, and with current Boro striker Emmanuel Latte Lath potentially on the move in the 2025 winter window, Middlesbrough may need to avoid a similar transaction if they need to find a successor for him.
Lukas Nmecha endures terrible time on loan at Middlesbrough.
Nmecha, who had already made a few senior games for Manchester City and represented England and Germany at youth level, appeared to be a big coup for Middlesbrough at the time.
He spent the 2018/19 season on loan at fellow Championship side Preston North End, where he scored four goals and assisted five times in 44 games. Given that it was his first lengthy taste of senior football, he was rewarded with a loan to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for the first part of the 2019/20 season.
Twelve matches and no goals or assists later, his stint in Germany had not gone as planned. As a result, City opted to send him back to the second tier for the remainder of the season, where he had performed well with North End, and Teesside was his destination.
However, Nmecha was unable to find his scoring boots as a Middlesbrough player, and his time at the Riverside ended with no goals or assists in 13 appearances.
He struggled to establish himself as a starter in Woodgate’s side, appearing in only four of his eleven Championship games. The German would return to City at the end of the 2019/20 season before going back on loan to Belgian club Anderlecht.
He scored 21 goals in 41 appearances there before returning to Wolfsburg permanently in the summer of 2021 for a reputed £11 million plus add-ons.
Middlesbrough will not want to repeat the Nmecha deal if Emmanuel Latte Lath requires replacement in the winter window.
Middlesbrough may be looking to sign a centre-forward to replace Latte Lath, who is expected to leave this month, after Premier League interest in Boro’s number nine has emerged.
Ipswich Town, Leicester City, West Ham United, and even fellow Championship rivals Leeds United have all been connected with a big-money transfer for the Ivorian international, leaving Middlesbrough’s decision-makers with a hard decision to make. Lath’s agent, Mathias Veneroso, has been actively drumming up interest and attention for a January move for his client in the lead-up to the winter window, and as a result, his time on Teesside may be coming to an end.
If that is the case, Carrick will undoubtedly want to recruit a successor this month, especially because his other centre-forward, Tommy Conway, has been dealing with a hamstring injury.
As a result, given how difficult business can be at this time of year, Boro may not want to hurry into a permanent contract with a player. Instead, they could choose to take out a loan before seriously addressing a permanent addition this summer.
If they do, Middlesbrough will almost definitely look to sign a brilliant youth or an out-of-favour Premier League potential, but they will not want to replicate their 2020 Nmecha purchase.
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