Former Middlesbrough favourite George Friend is set to be offered a new role with a Football League club.
The towering defender is expected to hang up his boots at the end of this current campaign, and could have a new role upstairs await him at the west country club.
The hope – as reported by Bristol Live – is that manager Matt Taylor, who has recently signed a three-year deal, can work closely with Friend to build a side that can climb out of League One and into the Championship.
The pair have worked together in the past at Exeter City before Friend moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
George Friend was a record-breaker at Middlesbrough
Currently plying his trade in League One for Bristol Rovers, Friend is one of Teesside’s favourite footballing sons, spending eight years at Middlesbrough. He was a consumate professional, and was a trusted member of the squad under a number of different managers, not least the promotion winning side assembled by Aitor Karanka.
He was a rock in a back four that kept a record number of clean sheets in that 2015/16 season, keeping a staggering 22 clean sheets and conceding just 31 goals; how Michael Carrick would love for a little bit of that stability at the back just now. Middlesbrough have conceded 49 goals already, and there is still another 13 games to navigate.
The former Middlesbrough man, a big imposing left-back come centre-back, moved to Bristol Rovers from Birmingham City on a free transfer last summer, but has struggled somewhat with injuries. That has limited his game time this season, managing just 12 appearances for The Gas.
Since the departure of previous Head of Football, Eddie Jennings in November, Rovers have been without a figurehead to lead the transfer dealings at the club. Friend, with over 500 appearances during a career that has seen him play at Doncaster Rovers, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Wolves amongst others, is seen as the perfect man to take charge in that senior role.
For Boro, Friend made 299 total appearances.
Big test for Friend in first senior role
It could be a testing first senior role for Friend, given the task in front of him. Bristol Rovers look to have a busy summer in front of them in terms of recruitment and currently have six loan players who will return to their parent club come the end of the season. They also have a whole host of players who have expiring contracts. No fewer than 13 on permanent contracts will be free agents in the summer should they not agree a new deal.
The one thing that will work in George’s favour, is that he will have played with and spent time with a lot of those individuals. That will offer some insight into the way they feel about the club, and moreover, whether they are good enough to shell out for in terms of a new contract.
The ex-Boro man, aptly nicknamed ‘Gorgeous George’ will also hope to call upon the relationships he has nurtured during his career in order to facilitate some transfer dealings. He was always a model pro wherever he played and he may even come calling on Teesside, with Middlesbrough already having entrusted Rovers with the development of the likes of Josh Coburn in the past.
You only have to look at the situation with Kieran Scott at Middlesbrough to understand just how important a role it is at a club.
Middlesbrough certainly have a number of young talents who would benefit from some action in the senior leagues. Sonny Finch, Fin Cartwright, Law McCabe may all be the kind of players who could learn their craft before coming back a more rounded footballer for the experience.
Friend would almost certainly ensure that those burgeoning starlets were taken care of, given his vested interest in the Boro.