After being relegated from the Premier League this season, Middlesbrough are set to lose several key players. Star keeper Victor Valdes has had his contract terminated by mutual consent. Gaston Ramirez is likely to leave with Benfica the most interested. Furthermore, goalkeeper Brad Guzan has agreed to join Atlanta in the MLS. Also, key men Ben Gibson and Martin De Roon also receiving a high volume of interest from several clubs.
Therefore, with so many crucial players leaving or looking likely to leave the club, Middlesbrough are now faced with the task of re-strengthening their squad in order to push for promotion straight back to the Premier League. Most people believe Middlesbrough will have to spend a fair amount of money in order strengthen their squad. But it’s easy to forget Middlesbrough have a very good academy that has produced or is in the process of producing quality players that could prove crucial to Boro’s promotion push next season and save them spending as much money on players in the summer.
With that in mind, here are several players who have come from Middlesbrough’s academy that could play a big role at Middlesbrough next season.
Connor Ripley
Firstly, with Middlesbrough already losing both of their main keepers in Guzan and Valdes, it is clear Middlesbrough are in dire need of a new number one. One name that springs to mind is Connor Ripley.
Ripley moved to Middlesbrough in 2009 from Blackburn Rovers u18 squad. He then spent two years in Middlesbrough’s youth system. Since then Ripley has made a few appearances for Boro in the Championship and had several loan spells away from Boro. Up until this past season, Ripley had never really found his feet. However, for the 2016/17 season, he spent the full season on loan in League One at Oldham Athletic. During the season Ripley started all 46 league games. While Oldham themselves didn’t have a great season, finishing 17th, one man who certainly did was Connor.
In the 46 league games, he played he managed to keep an astonishing 18 clean sheets. This impressive stat matched the Oldham club record and also landed Ripley three awards at the end of the season. These came in the form of two player of the season awards from separate Oldham fans groups and a young player of the season award.
To keep 18 clean sheets in one season at a club that didn’t do well in the league is very impressive. It also now means Ripley should and could be in contention for Boro’s number one spot next season. Although the Championship is a step up from League One, Ripley has shown he is growing as a player and improving season by season. If Ripley impresses in pre-season there is a strong possibility he could be Boro’s number one or at least second choice. This would also save Boro some money as instead of having to buy two keepers to replace Valdes and Guzan now they would only maybe need to sign one.
Ripley himself has also said he’d like to be Boro’s main choice keeper next season. With the season he had at Oldham he very well could be.
Dael Fry
Another youngster who could be a key part of Boro’s squad next year is Dael Fry. Fry is a 19-year-old central defender who has been in Boro’s youth system since 2006. The defender has made several appearances for Boro. Including two this season in Cup games against Manchester City and Accrington. He also made a few appearances in Boro’s promotion winning campaign in 2015/16. Fry got, even more, Championship experience this season when he spent several months on loan at Rotherham making 10 appearances.
So, while Fry is only 19 he has had experience in the Championship in which he has played well in the majority of his games. Moreover, he has played for England’s U17’s, U18’S, U19’S and U20’s. This shows Fry could be a key member of the Boro squad next year. Because he has played and done well in the Championship before and also has international experience.
Fry could also be important to Boro next season as fellow centre-back Ben Gibson looks likely to be leaving the club in the summer. Meaning a centre back spot needs to be filled. While Fry maybe isn’t quite ready to be Boro’s leading CB like Gibson was this season, he could certainly play a part in Boro’s promotion push next year as a rotational CB.
Callum Cooke
Cooke, like Fry, is unlikely to be in the starting XI every game next season for Middlesbrough. But, he certainly could be a very useful impact sub/rotational player. Cooke is a 20-year-old attacking midfielder who can play central, left or right attacking midfield.
The midfielder began his professional career at Boro in 2014 when he joined their youth team. Cooke has since impressed as a part of the Reds U23 squad and most recently on loan at Crewe. Cooke spent the second half of this season on loan at the League Two side. He made 18 appearances for them scoring four goals and assisting six.
With Gaston Ramirez likely to be leaving Boro, they now only have Downing who could play central attacking midfield. Even though he has most recently been playing out on the left. So, it’s clear Middlesbrough need to find some more CAM’s. Therefore, while Cooke may not be ready to be the main playmaker for Boro, his recent spell at Crewe showed us that he is certainly a very talented CAM. He could easily be one of Boro’s attacking mids next season, even if he’s not the main number 10.
