Middlesbrough hope to be among the Championship’s promotion candidates next season, and they may only need one or two more signings to have a side capable of returning to the Premier League.
Manager Michael Carrick and head of football Kieran Scott have led Teesside into a new era of transfer market success, with many profitable windows bringing some elite quality to the Riverside Stadium.
They appear to have had another successful summer window this time around, as Luke Ayling, Delano Burgzorg, Aidan Morris, and highly rated adolescent Harley Hunt all signed permanent contracts with the club.
Boro are anticipated to make a couple of more acquisitions before the window closes at the end of August arrives, and Football League World looks at two potential acquisitions that Boro should try to make before their Championship start against Swansea City.
Boro should push for Ryan Giles deal amid Bangura injury news
After returning from their pre-season trip to Portugal, Middlesbrough have been dealt an unexpected injury blow to left-back Alex Bangura, whose Boro career seemingly refuses to get off the ground as a result. This has thrown his availability for the start of the 2024/25 Championship season into some doubt, and leaves Lukas Engel as Carrick’s only senior option at the position. Academy graduate George McCormick has been hugely impressive throughout Boro’s pre-season matches, and appears to be a promising prospect for the future, but the club may well prefer to source him a loan move this summer. Therefore, the time might be now for Middlesbrough to follow through on their well-reported interest in reuniting with former loan star Ryan Giles, as a concrete offer for
The 24-year-old could tell that things were moving swiftly.
Acun Ilicali, chairman of Hull City, has previously declared that if Giles informs the club of his wish to join Middlesbrough, he will not block his move.
Ryan Giles was on it for Middlesbrough vs Wigan yesterday. Unstoppable outlet on the left.
18 assists in 98 Championship games..
22/23 0.32 Expected Assists p/90
21/22 0.30 Expected Assists p/90
20/21 0.21 Expected Assists p/90Incredible figures for a 22 year old LB/LWB pic.twitter.com/0k4uw07GW4
— ForeseeaBall (@ForeseeaBall) December 27, 2022
That was quickly refuted by the club’s deputy chief executive Tan Kesler, who told BBC Humberside via Teesside Live: “I want Ryan to be a member of the leadership group and proud of our organization. Be proud of us and push us to the next level. “He is capable of doing that.”
Comments like those were clearly designed to send a strong message to Boro that Giles is not a player Hull wants to sell, but after appearing to have been given the go-ahead to sign Giles by the Tigers’ chairman, the Teessiders should not be frightened off if they do want him.
Bangura’s injury issues may force Carrick and Scott back into the transfer market, testing Hull’s commitment to keep Giles.
Tom Cannon would provide Carrick with serious firepower up top
Middlesbrough has long been rumored to be looking to acquire a centre-forward this summer, and Leicester City striker Tom Cannon has been courted by a number of Championship clubs.
Sheffield United, Stoke City, and West Bromwich Albion have all been linked with a move for the 21-year-old, and Boro should join that list of potential suitors.
Cannon has been linked with a transfer to Teesside before, with Boro apparently aiming to seal a deal for the then-Everton striker last summer.
That failed to materialize, and the Republic of Ireland international joined eventual Championship champions Leicester City instead. However, after a season playing a bit-part role at the King Power, he
It appears to be available again this summer. Cannon has already demonstrated his ability to score frequently at the second-tier level, having had an impressive loan spell with Preston North End in 2022/23, during which he scored eight goals and assisted once in 20 league appearances.
According to FotMob, the teenage attacker scored 56 goals in 105 outings in all competitions for various Everton youth sides between 2018/19 and 2022/23.
Securing a deal for the forward would provide Carrick with another strong striking option to complement Emmanuel Latte Lath, who missed 16 league games last season due to injury.
Should the Ivorian international miss a similar amount of time next season, having a player of Cannon’s skill to fall back on might keep Middlesbrough’s goals coming and a potential promotion season on track.
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