THIS time last year, Middlesbrough were in a major state of flux. Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Ryan Giles had all gone, returning to their parent clubs after successful loan deals. Chuba Akpom was just about still a Boro player, but his move to Ajax would be confirmed in a couple of weeks’ time.
Six senior players had been signed since the start of the summer, but it would be another fortnight before Emmanuel Latte Lath arrived from Atalanta and even longer before Lukas Engel and Alex Bangura flew in to plug the gap at left-back. With the benefit of hindsight, it is little wonder the Teessiders had such a disastrous start to the season, with their inability to win any of their opening seven league games ultimately proving a major factor in their failure to claim a play-off place. Fast forward 12 months, and things could hardly be more different.
Paddy McNair is the only first-team player of any note to have left since the end of last season, and that was because Michael Carrick and the rest of Boro’s executive team decided not to renew his contract. While there has been speculation about Rav van den Berg, Hayden Hackney and Latte Lath, all three remain on Teesside and are expected to start Saturday’s season-opener against Swansea City. A mammoth offer could arrive to change things before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, but there is a strong determination to retain the ‘crown jewels’, and if one of the trio was to depart, contingency plans are.