A key exit from a rival Championship club should boost Middlesbrough’s chances of securing promotion in 2024/25.
Middlesbrough are once again set to vie for promotion in the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Boro have been stuck in the Championship since 2017 but there is an optimism around the club that the coming season will finally see them return to the Premier League.
Michael Carrick came close to winning promotion in 2022/23, taking the North East side to the play-off semi-finals before they lost to Coventry City.
Middlesbrough underachieved somewhat in the previous campaign due to injury woes and a lot of key players leaving last summer.
However, Boro have already signed four players in the current window and have, so far, been able to keep hold of their top stars from 2023/24 – leading to high expectations for 2024/25.
Craig Bellamy leaves Burnley for Wales
Now, Middlesbrough’s chances of securing promotion in the coming campaign have been boosted by the exit of Craig Bellamy from Burnley.
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League last season and were expected to be right in the promotion race come May 2025.
However, the Clarets lost manager Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich recently and have now parted ways with Bellamy.
The former Liverpool player was Burnley’s assistant manager last term and was made acting head coach at Turf Moor when Kompany left.
Now though, Bellamy has been appointed Wales head coach on a deal until 2028.
After it was confirmed Bellamy was set to join Wales, Burnley chairman Alan Pace was full of praise for the 44-year-old, as per the Northern Echo.
He said: “I want to thank Craig for all his hard work during his time at Burnley and wish him the best for his new position as Wales manager.
“Craig has been a very important part of our wonderful journey the last two years. I’ve admired his leadership, knowledge and passion.”
Bellamy Burnley exit good news for Middlesbrough
Bellamy’s departure means the Clarets have now lost two of the key staff members who guided them to promotion in 2022/23.
Scott Parker has taken the reigns at Turf Moor since Kompany’s exit but there is always a certain amount of uncertainty when bringing in new personnel.
Had Bellamy stayed, he could have provided Parker with key knowledge of the current Burnley stars in a bid to help the new manager settle in quicker.
That will no longer happen, which is good news for Middlesbrough and their promotion hopes.
Burnley, along with Sheffield United, Luton Town, and Leeds United are all expected to rival Boro for promotion in 2024/25 but with more turnover in Lancashire, the former of that quartet may not be as big a threat as they might have been a couple of months ago.