Middlesbrough missed out on one January target on deadline day, after he opted to stay at his current club.
It was a quiet deadline day for Michael Carrick and Middlesbrough.
Boro were linked with a few players but didn’t actually sign anyone in the final 24 hours of the winter window, which saw Finn Azaz, Luke Ayling, and Luke Thomas all head to the Riverside.
Morgan Rogers left for Aston Villa in a reported £16milion move and Oxford United’s Tyler Goodrham was tipped to replace him, though Boro links to the Irishman were quickly played down.
Another winger linked with a late move to Middlesbrough was Burnley’s Manuel Benson; the Belgian has fallen out of favour at Turf Moor this season and had a host of Championship clubs wanting to sign him.
In the end though, the 26-year-old opted to stay at Burnley.
Manuel Benson rejects late move despite Middlesbrough interest
In a report late last night, Alan Nixon revealed that Benson was staying at Burnley, ‘to the disappointment’ of a number of second tier sides.
Nixon adds that Middlesbrough and Leeds United ‘were among those who expressed a late interest’ but that Benson ‘opted to stay at Turf Moor’, presumably in a bid to fight for his place in the XI.
Last season in the Championship, Benson scored 11 and assisted three more in 33 league appearances as the Clarets won the league title.
Carrick may now struggle without Morgan Rogers
Rogers didn’t score a huge amount of goals in the Championship (2) but he did create chances for his teammates, constantly causing a threat to oppositions, and his exit is undoubtedly a blow.
The move makes financial sense for Boro who paid a reported £1million for him last summer, and Carrick may now be forced to push Marcus Forss up top, or rely on the likes of Josh Coburn to score the goals with Emmanuel Latte Lath out injured.
And Benson would’ve been a huge capture for Boro; interest from the likes of Leeds and Southampton last month shows how highly-rated he is at Championship level.
Carrick might also be gutted to know that Benson opted to stay at Burnley when he could arguably have got unlimited game time at Middlesbrough in the second half of the season, but there’s nothing Boro can do about it now.
Up next is a huge Championship clash at home vs Sunderland on Sunday, with kick off at 12pm.
A win for Boro in the Tees-Wear derby would bring them level on points with the Black Cats who currently sit in 7th place of the table.