Middlesbrough have lost Matt Crooks to MLS side Real Salt Lake, and transfer expert Graeme Bailey has given his verdict on the move.
Middlesbrough endured a tough deadline day, seeing nobody arrive but watching Morgan Rogers join Aston Villa in a reported £16million move.
It bags the club a lot of money but leaves boss Michael Carrick low on attacking numbers; even more so after Crooks agreed a move to MLS side Real Salt Lake.
And speaking exclusively to boro.news, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that it was Boro’s poor summer transfer window last year that meant Crooks was still playing a role this season.
Bailey said on Crooks’ MLS move:
“Matt Crooks was a huge fans favourite at Boro and for good reason. But in truth, he was never meant to play a significant role this season and only a poor summer of recruitment saw him involved as much.
“They would have liked to keep him until the end of the season but they did not want to stand in his way with a three-year deal on the table, and he knew he was not part of Michael Carrick’s first-team plans. But some fans should wonder that allowing both Crooks and Morgan Rogers to leave, does not point to promotion contenders – it leaves the squad weaker for sure.”
Middlesbrough haven’t won any of their two games since the January transfer window closed; drawing at home to Sunderland and then losing at home to Bristol City last weekend.
Now with the club sitting in 13th place of the Championship table ahead of tonight’s match at Preston North End, there’s a growing sense that Carrick’s side will now have to wait until next season before they can realistically challenge for promotion.
Another transfer window needed before Boro can challenge
Middlesbrough are making a bad habit of selling good players and not doing enough to replace them.
Chuba Akpom was the key example of last summer and Rogers of the January window, albeit as a late departure, though no replacement was brought in beforehand.
And Bailey doesn’t believe a direct Crooks replacement will be brought in this summer, but suggests that the club may have already signed their replacement in Finn Azaz.
The 23-year-old joined on a permanent deal from Aston Villa in January and has one assist in four Championship outings for Boro so far.
“In terms of a replacement, you could argue they have one in place in Finn Azaz and he will get the chance to stake his claim in his proper role in the coming weeks,” said Bailey.
Poor planning holding Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick back
It seems like Middlesbrough are a bit of a sleeping giant right now.
They have a good coach in place, an ambitious owner, and a loyal fan base, but are lacking a proper plan for the Premier League.
Teams in the Championship of course need to be selling clubs to a degree, and selling Rogers for £16million after snapping him up for £1million in the summer is great business.
But not signing a replacement, and then letting another important attacking player in Crooks leave looks like it could subject Boro to another season in the Championship.
In truth, the season may have been done and dusted after they failed to properly replacement Akpom last summer, so for Middlesbrough, it now looks like another case of ‘get to the summer, and rebuild’.