The thing about selling players does need context.
Spence wasn’t a first-choice player and we cashed in on what will be the only good full season of his career.
Akpom wanted to leave and wouldn’t sign a new deal. We made around £12m on someone who was set to leave for free the summer before.
Tav wanted Premier League football. I think it was an open secret he’d been told he could go if someone came in for him. The real issue there was that the deal happened so late in the summer and we didn’t sign a replacement. Though it turns out we had one in Hackney only the manager at the time couldn’t see it.
Rogers, again, he told the club he would like to move. The club got a big fee for someone who’d expressed a desire to leave, who’d they paid a nominal amount for six months earlier.
I was disappointed that Tav, Akpom and Rogers left but there is context. The club can’t just say you’re not going anywhere because you end up annoying players and creating disharmony. The damage with Akpom was done in the two years leaving up to his departure, under Warnock, and when Ajax come knocking with a fat contract and a few million quid then he’s just never going to stay. He’s playing for money. They all are.
I’ve said for a while that this is the big summer for Boro. We’ve spent two years building a squad we pretty much own outright, all of them bar Howson a very good age and actually worth something in the transfer market, many of them with plenty of scope to improve. We must add the 4, 5, 6 quality players onto that now and really go for it next season. I think the building work is done and now we’re looking for class.
If we sell any of our ‘crown jewels’ this summer I’d be pretty disappointed tbh. This is the summer where we have the room to really go for it.
agreed the core of the first XI is there
GK - Dieng is championship A-quality
RB - Smith is a B (assuming he is fit and back to previous form)
CB - Rav is an B+ ; Clarke, Lenihan, Fry are all B-
LB - Engel is B-, Bangura too few minutes to tell
CM - Hackney and Howson are B; Barlaser is a C
RW - Jones/Forss are B
LW - McGree is a B-; Silvera D
10 - Azaz B-, Gilbert (too few mins to tell)
CF - Lath is A; Coburn is C+
If everyone is a B we are borderline for the play offs. If you have a couple of Cs you probably need a couple of As....we've got As in two of the best positions CF and GK.
If Ayling signs he is a B+
I think a LW may now be our priority this summer, if we are honest McGree has barely played and Greenwood and Silvera have largely been passengers. We need a constant goal/assist threat on that side.
After that, we cannot rely on Barlaser as a CM in Carricks tactics, so someone to compete with Howson would be next most important
Third biggest option is to get a third CF
We don't need a lot more beyond that to be play off shoe ins and promotion outsiders.