Central defender Dael Fry has signed a new three-year contract at his boyhood club Middlesbrough, which will see him stay at the Riverside Stadium until the end of the 2025-26 season.
Fry was entering the final year of his previous contract, with Boro very keen on negotiating a new deal to extend the 25-year-old’s stay on Teesside.
Academy product Fry made his first-team debut for Middlesbrough back in 2015, aged just 17 and has established himself as a key player in recent years going on to make 206 appearances for the club.
He has often been linked with Premier League clubs, with Fry himself making it clear of his ambitions to play in the top division of English football.
However, his new deal reflects in the trust he has in boss Michael Carrick to build on the 2022/23 campaign and help redeliver Premier League football at the Riverside after a six-year exile.
Middlesbrough’s defensive options
Despite a rocky start to the previous campaign, Fry became a regular under Carrick. However, his injury troubles hindered him throughout the second half of the season.
Paddy McNair and Darragh Lenihan were the usual centre-half pairing with Fry out injured, but the former of two, like Fry before his extension, only has 12 months left on his current deal and has been linked with a move away this summer.
The arrival of 19-year-old Dutchman Rav Van Den Berg from PEC Zwolle will give the academy graduate added competition, but also provides added depth at the back ahead of the upcoming campaign.
With a full pre-season under his belt, Fry will be hoping to force his way back into Carrick’s starting XI come the opening-day fixture against Millwall on August 5th.