Garry Monk’s Middlesbrough have had a very successful transfer window so far. The newest addition to the squad being West Ham keeper Darren Randolph. Randolph signed for £5 million and is Monk’s 6th signing as he looks to rebuild Middlesbrough in order to mount a successful promotion push in the upcoming season.
So far Boro have strengthened their attack with the signing of Britt Assombalonga and Martin Braithwaite. They have strengthened their midfield with Jonny Howson and their full back positions through the signings of Cyrus Christie and Connor Roberts.
However, one area Middlesbrough have yet to strengthen is their centre back position. This is somewhat peculiar given that Middlesbrough have already sold one of their centre backs. Bernardo Espinosa left Boro earlier in the window for Spanish side Girona for a fee of around £4 million.
Middlesbrough are also likely to lose star centre back Ben Gibson this summer. Gibson played every minute of Premier League football last season for Middlesbrough. He was one of the standout stars in a very shoddy Middlesbrough side.
This has led to several Premier League clubs being desperate to sign him. The most recent being West Brom. West Brom have just bid £18 million for Gibson. However, Boro rejected it. Even so, it is likely West Brom or another Premier League club will come in for Gibson again before the window shuts and if the bid is high enough, Middlesbrough will most likely sell.
This would leave Boro with just three centre backs. Daniel Ayala, who will no doubt be a first team player next season as he was Boro’s best centre back last time they were promoted.
Dael Fry, who is a promising young centre back but is lacking the experience of a Gibson or Ayala and finally Alex Baptiste who has played just one senior game for Boro and is not exactly good enough to lead Boro to promotion.
Thankfully for Boro fans, however, Monk has finally turned his attention to finding a new centre back. The centre back Boro are looking to sign is Ryan Shotton from Birmingham City. Hull City are also interested in the defender. But Boro looks to be favourites to sign him as it stands.
Shotton signed for Birmingham in July 2016 after spending half a season on loan at the Blues from Derby County. During his time at Birmingham, he made 54 appearances and has been of the best defenders at the club.
Last season he played 43 of Birmingham’s Championship games and was a key reason why Birmingham managed to escape relegation. Despite finishing 19th, just two points away from relegation, Birmingham managed to keep an impressive 12 clean sheets.
This was largely due to Ryan Shotton and his impressive defensive performances. This shows he is a solid Championship centre back and would be a good addition to Middlesbrough’s squad.
Ryan Shotton would also be a good signing for Middlesbrough because of his versatility. He is primarily a centre back, playing 77 of his career games there. But he can also play right back, a position he has played 56 times, right midfield, a position he has played 22 times and left back where he has played twice.
This would be very useful to Middlesbrough. Especially in the Championship where teams must play 46 games a season, often twice a week. Injuries are bound to happen and it is always useful to have a quality player who can fill in different positions when needed.
Furthermore, Ryan Shotton offers Middlesbrough a host of experience both in the Premier League and Championship. Something the likes of Dael Fry cannot offer yet. Shotton has played as mentioned earlier for Birmingham in the Championship last season. Before that, he was in the Championship with Derby where he played 36 games. Moreover, he played 70 games for Stoke City.
Most of them in the Premier League with some even coming in the Europa League in 2011/12. He played 8 European games, scoring one and assisting two. Therefore, Middlesbrough should sign Shotton because he is a very experienced Championship centre back/right back. Also if Middlesbrough are promoted next season Shotton has Premier League experience as well.
While Shotton is probably not as good as Gibson, he would certainly be a good signing for Boro and would do an excellent job in the Championship. Especially if partnered alongside Daniel Ayala.
