Middlesbrough had five players on loan during the second half of the season.
The current expectation is that none of Middlesbrough’s five loanees will return next season. Their loan periods effectively ended on Saturday, when Boro were defeated by Coventry City, ending their ambitions of making the play-offs.
Four of the five loan players were featured in the defeat, with Ben Doak unavailable due to an injury sustained at the end of January that ended his season prematurely.
The Liverpool star had already said his goodbyes to Boro as it was confirmed he would not return before the end of the season. Boro’s ability to re-sign Doak was always contingent on promotion.
The Scotland international has a number of Premier League suitors, with Liverpool facing a decision on whether to sell him this summer.
However, while Boro will closely monitor his status throughout the summer, with a Bournemouth exit looking imminent, the Cherries’ asking price is expected to be too expensive for Boro.
He is also projected to have several lucrative opportunities. Boro will welcome back Brynn for the start of pre-season, with the Teessider eager to go on next season and establish himself as first choice, having appeared to be on track just before suffering a shoulder injury in December.
It is unclear when Dieng will return from the devastating Achilles injury he sustained, which was comparable to the one that held Alex Bangura out for the season.
There had been considerable discussion about Samuel Iling-Junior perhaps returning. He struggled to settle on Teesside at first, but eventually gained a regular place in the team at left-back when Neto Borges was obliged to cover as centre-back before suffering an injury.
Former Boro transfer chief Victor Orta, now in charge of Sevilla, has confessed that Iheanacho’s move to the La Liga club was a mistake, leaving the Nigerian striker’s future unknown. However, having struggled on Teesside, Boro will not be aiming to sign him this summer.
Giles clearly supports Boro following the success of his first loan spell, whereas Carrick is a major fan of the left-back. However, he struggled to regain his first spell’s form and was limited in game time on this occasion. He will return to Hull City this summer, but his future remains unknown.
Despite losing Iling-Junior, Boro welcomed Neto Borges back to the team in the final game against Coventry, while the aforementioned Bangura will return for the start of pre-season, anxious to put two years of injury hell behind him and establish his worth on Teesside.
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