Middlesbrough transfer plan & cycle is exciting – regardless of Latte Lath outcome

THE last three transfer windows have led to the same conclusion: Middlesbrough are on to something good when it comes to recruitment.

Players have been identified and untapped talent has been pulled from beneath the radar, with swift and impressive improvement on Teesside, and envious eyes are watching intently.

This is a recurring event, not a one-time occurrence.

Morgan Rogers, Rav van den Berg, and Emmanuel Latte Lath have all been signed for low prices in the last 18 months before their Riverside valuation skyrocketed.
Aidan Morris had a fantastic start to life at Boro before injury hampered his progress, and in his first full season at the club, Finn Azaz is only surpassed by one Championship player in terms of goal involvement and chances created.

Who has been the best Boro player so far this season? Ben Doak? The improvement of some of the players named above was a big factor in Liverpool’s in-demand winger’s decision to join the Riverside this summer.

The fact that Doak received consent from Liverpool and Arne Slot for the move demonstrates Boro’s status and recent progress.
The success of signings, however, inevitably attracts interest from elsewhere. Rogers last year, van den Berg and Latte Lath in the summer, and the attacker again this season, while negotiations with Atlanta United over a potential £20 million transfer continue.
The bid came at the same week as Boro’s latest financial accounts, covering the 12-month period beginning June 2023, were disclosed, revealing a £12.4m loss.

The figures revealed the cost of trying to remain competitive at the top of the Championship, as well as the importance of player trading, which included the sales of Rogers and Chuba Akpom over the period covered.

There is a significant difference between being a selling club and being clever in the transfer market, and, while a deal for Latte Lath has yet to be finalized, the prospect of earning more than four times what you invested on a player in a season and a half has to be considered good business. If, of course, there is a succession plan. At Boro, there is.

If Latte Lath goes before the end of the window, he will be replaced. While Boro did not and do not want to sell Latte Lath this month, they were aware of the possibility of interest, and over the last few months, Kieran Scott’s recruitment team, directed by Chris Jones, has conducted considerable research on potential alternatives.

While Tommy Conway is now injured, Boro boast a Scotland international striker with the Championship’s second best goals per 90 minute record this season.

The fact that Boro has had and continues to have players coveted by the clubs listed above demonstrates that they are on the correct route. Van den Berg hopes to stay at the Riverside for a long time, but if he does go, it will be for a large sum of money. The same may be said for Hayden Hackney.