After the week from hell endured so far by Rob Edwards’ Middlesbrough, this is not the reaction they would have wanted to a new face arriving at Riverside.

While Dael Fry’s opening weekend winner against Swansea City got Michael Carrick’s replacement off to the perfect start, it took a four-goal drubbing by a third-tier side to scrub away any lingering pre-season optimism.

Just to darken the mood even further, on the same day that Doncaster Rovers delivered one of the most humiliating defeats in their modern history, Middlesbrough accepted FC Koln’s bid for Rav van den Berg.

Boro’s most talented defender heading for the exit mere hours after Doncaster rattled in four unanswered goals at the Riverside.

And while the Middlesbrough faithful hold out hope that Sontje Hansen could turn those frowns upside down, the reaction to his move from back home in the Netherlands may tell a very different, far more tragic story.

Many of those who watched the jet-heeled forward during his final season at NEC Nijmegen are proclaiming this near-£4 million deal exceedingly good business. Just not for Rob Edwards and Boro.

Sontje Hansen slammed after leaving NEC Nijmegen for Middlesbrough

A graduate of the fabled Ajax academy, Hansen was once so highly regarded that none other than Antoine Griezmann contacted the former Dutch youth star after his starring role in the Netherlands’ U17 World Cup triumph in 2019, encouraging him to keep pushing on.

Six years later, while the Atletico Madrid icon continues to perform at the highest level – his wonderful finish against Boro’s bitter rivals Newcastle in pre-season a testament to that – Hansen arrives in England’s second tier with one hell of a point to prove.

“This is a super, super, super deal,” Dutch football pundit Leo Oldenburger tells ESPN. “The NEC technical director [Carlos Aalbers] deserves a statue for this deal.

“[NEC have sold] a player who you know wouldn’t play a single minute next season. He showed flashes of interest at NEC, but otherwise he was largely disappointing. Hats off [to Aalbers]!”

Hansen produced only six goals and four assists in his final Eredivisie campaign. Dick Schreuder, NEC’s demanding head coach, clearly expected more.

Oldenburger highlights a pre-season clash between NEC and Groningen in July, during which Middlesbrough’s newest signing was hauled off less than halfway through the opening stanza.

“There was a remarkable practice match during this pre-season,” the pundit explains. “Dick Schreuder substituted him after just fifteen minutes and said afterwards that Hansen wasn’t fit [to play] more.

“Schreuder demands a lot from all his players, especially the wingers, who have to cover the entire flank. Hansen quickly disappeared from that role.”

“You have to deliver, and the chances of that happening under Schreuder were very slim.”

Perhaps even more damningly, Algemeen Dagblad describe his sale as NEC ‘getting rid of a headache’.

“The coaching staff and teammates no longer have to worry about his inaction,” add De Gelderlander, joining the pile-on.

Hansen can be a superb Middlesbrough addition if he finds form

Sontje Hansen is confident the Middlesbrough fans will enjoy his searing pace, his two-footedness and his occasional eye for the spectacular.

But, with atmosphere at the Riverside already turning sour only days into the new campaign and having departed NEC Nijmegen under a cloud, Sontje Hansen may need Middlesbrough even more than Middlesbrough needs Sontje Hansen.

Birmingham City were linked with the one-time Manchester City and Juventus target earlier in the window. And, when at his best, Hansen is still capable of the sort of mind-bending brilliance demonstrated in his glorious solo effort against Utrecht just last season.

There is also a screamer away at Ajax in his collection.

“I think he’s a really good player,” Karim El Ahmadi, the Eredivisie Player of the Year when Feyenoord won the league in 2017, told ESPN of Hansen in happier times.

“In Ajax’s academy, he was already considered a great talent. He now has to make sure he continues to develop and keeps playing minutes.

“Hansen is certainly a weapon for NEC.

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