Since taking charge of Middlesbrough on December 26th, 2017, Tony Pulis has made it quite clear he is looking to offload several members of the Boro squad. The main reason for this being that he believes the squad is too big. Especially in several key areas.
One of the overinflated areas you could argue is centre midfield. Middlesbrough generally play 4-2-3-1 which require two sitting centre mids. However, Middlesbrough have a total of six players who could play those two positions for Boro. Jonny Howson and Grant Leadbitter are generally the starters there. But that still leaves Adam Clayton, Adam Forshaw, Lewis Baker and Adlene Guedioura who can also play there. Four subs for two spots is simply too much and Pulis is keen to offload several of these players.
Adlene Guedioura, for example, has already been linked with a move to Ipswich. The Algerian has barely featured at Boro since arriving from Watford over a year ago. So, if Ipswich come in with a bid for him, Middlesbrough are likely to accept.
Adam Forshaw has also yet to feature for Tony Pulis in any capacity in the four games Pulis has been in charge. This has lead many people to speculate that Forshaw will also be on his way out this January.
Finally, in terms of departing centre mids, Lewis Baker was signed by Garry Monk on a season-long loan from Chelsea. However, Baker has been out of the squad for some time now. And he too has yet to make an appearance under Pulis. This would suggest Chelsea could well recall his loan as he is getting no first-team football at all. Furthermore, Celtic are also rumoured to want Baker on loan. Meaning that Chelsea could well recall him from Boro to send him to Celtic.
So, while Pulis will be happy to be cutting down his squad, he will not be happy about having just three centre mids for two positions. This would not be enough for the remainder of the season. Especially given the hectic Championship schedule and how often centre mids are booked and suspended.
Therefore, given that Boro would have just three centre mids if all of the above players left in January, Boro should be looking to sign one new replacement for the three departing players. One player Pulis seems quite interested in is John McGinn.
McGinn is a 23-year-old centre midfielder who currently plays in the SPL for Hibernian. McGinn moved to Hibernian for an undisclosed fee back in the summer of 2015 from fellow Scottish side St Mirren.
Since moving to Hibs, McGinn has played a crucial role in the side. In the 2015/16 season, he managed four goals and nine assists. Then in the 2016/17 season, he managed five goals and 10 assists for the Scottish side. So far this season, McGinn has already scored four goals and earned five assists for Hibs.
This suggests that McGinn could be the perfect replacement for Boro’s departing centre mids. He gets a fair few assists each season. Plus, he can get forward and chip in with the goals as well which is always nice to have in your centre midfielders. He is also just 23 which means he still has plenty of time to improve as a player.
The SPL is currently on a break. However, when it returns towards the end of January, Middlesbrough will be taking a closer look at McGinn and he could well be Boro’s first signing of the year. Boro may have to fend off interest from West Ham, however, as they are also reportedly interested in the centre mid.
