This summer, Middlesbrough and other Championship clubs benefited from Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson’s decision to leave them out of his next squad.
The Republic of Ireland hosts Senegal at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on June 6, followed by a four-day road game against Luxembourg. Despite being a regular since the new head coach arrived over, Boro star Finn Azaz has not been named to the squad.
Ireland’s squad announcement stated that Hallgrimsson has left out the majority of Championship-based players to allow for rest and recovery in the off-season. However, Preston’s Robbie Brady will join the squad due to Hallgrimsson’s lack of left-back options. This decision allows Azaz to join the Boro squad for the start of pre-season at the start of the season.
While Azaz will return to Rockliffe at the end of June, other Boro players’ pre-season training may be disrupted due to international duty. Tommy Conway (Scotland) is the only confirmed international thus far.
While Azaz will return to Rockliffe at the end of June, other Boro players’ pre-season training may be disrupted due to international duty. Tommy Conway (Scotland) is the only confirmed international thus far.
Aidan Morris is also awaiting news on if he will return to the USA squad for friendlies against Turkey (June 7) and Switzerland (June 11). He was injured while on service for his country in November and did not make Mauricio Pochettino’s team in March, despite being fully fit.
Finally, Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney may miss a significant portion of Boro’s pre-season, as both are expected to make their respective countries’ under-21 squads for the European Championship. The event takes place in Slovakia from June 11 to June 28, with Hackney set to represent defending champions England and Van den Berg hoping to represent the Netherlands.
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