Middlesbrough are not shy about moving players on but the fact Steve Gibson has kept one player at the club is pretty surprising.
Boro fans have been left disappointed on more than one occasion in recent years when top players have been sold.
The most recent major Middlesbrough exit saw Chuba Akpom leave the Riverside Stadium to join European powerhouse, Ajax.
Thanks to the improved recruitment at the club, the Teessiders were able to fill the void left by Akpom.
But even his replacement Emmanuel Latte Lath has received heavy transfer interest, with Ipswich Town trying to sign the Ivorian on deadline day last month.
Steve Gibson deserves credit for not letting any of Boro’s best assets depart in the most recent transfer window.
Latte Lath, Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg were all kept despite Premier League interest but there is one player Boro fans will probably be glad to see the back of.
- READ MORE: £12k-a-week Middlesbrough star is already proving he’s ready for a Premier League transfer
Pundit ‘staggered’ Matthew Hoppe is still at Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough signed Matthe Hoppe from Spanish side RCD Mallorca in August 2022 for around £2.5m.
The striker was only 21 years of age at the time and looked to have the potential to go on and become a key player for the North East outfit.
However, Hoppe has so far made a shockingly low six senior appearances during his two-and-a-bit-year stint with Boro.
Now, talkSPORT pundit and Middlesbrough expert Phil Spencer, as per FLW, has given his verdict on Hoppe, who he is ‘staggered’ is still at Boro.
He said: “Matthew Hoppe is a player that I’m staggered is still at Middlesbrough. He arrived a couple of seasons ago, he came in as a development player and he has never really been anywhere near the first team.
“As far as his future is concerned, he certainly doesn’t have a future at Middlesbrough at first team level. He’s nowhere near the first team, so it does feel like he’ll be allowed to move on at some point in the future, hopefully on a permanent basis because his future doesn’t lie at the Riverside.
“As far as the lad is concerned, I’m not sure what the circumstances are behind why his Middlesbrough career has gone so far off the boil, but I think from his point of view, it’s very, very important that he gets his career back on track, even if that means going back over to America and reigniting things over there.
“It’s been a really disappointing signing as far as Middlesbrough are concerned, and I just don’t really see a way back for him at the Riverside, particularly under Michael Carrick.”
Middlesbrough stance on Matthew Hoppe transfer
Hoppe remains under contract with Middlesbrough until the end of June 2026.
As a result, if Boro wish to recoup any of the money paid out for the American, they need to sell him in January or next summer to get the best possible deal.
It was reported in the most recent transfer window that Middlesbrough have no plans for Hoppe and were happy to let him depart.
A move back to the MLS for the hitman was touted at the time but no transfer came to pass and Hoppe has since been left languishing at Rockliffe Park with no path into the first-team.
It is a bizarre situation and exactly why Gibson did not sanction a sale this summer is currently unknown.