I'm disappointed if they let Duncan go. He has been a good player for us and scored some important goals and works very hard with great running and determination. With hopefully Boro making the playoffs I would have thought Duncan would be a great asset to come on the pitch at important times of the games.
I like Watmore also and he has contributed during his time at Boro but let’s be honest this season he has become a bench warmer. Is it fair to him to keep him here, when he is being offered a permanent contract at Millwall, the fact that it is reported that Millwall are paying a fee for him suggests that he will be more than a bench warmer for them. It is reported that the deal has been ongoing for the past 10 days but Millwall had to wait until Boro had lined up a replacement, so maybe someone else coming in tomorrow. Thinking of that it is expected that Fulham will complete for Torino midfielder Sasa Lukic which,as previously reported, they will be allowing Harry Wilson to out on loan, it doesn’t mean he will come to Boro, but I would be happy with the swap.
Come on BORO.
I suspect the club believes it has another player lined up. Didn't Millwall say they had been in talks with Boro for 10 days but it was agreed to keep it under wraps whilst Boro sorted out a replacement?
Elsewhere, Matthew Hoppe played the full 90 minutes for the United States in their goalless draw with Colombia over the weekend.
There are the highlights of the International match on here: https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2023/january/30/hoppe-plays-in-draw-with-colombia/
I think Hoppe played quite well in this friendly international match, too. He was played on the left hand side and his passing was good. It was his eighth full cap.
Perhaps he is an option for McGree on the left?
Up the Boro!
I like Watmore; he has been an excellent signing for us. Seems reasonable to let him go though. 6 months left on his contract and if he can get a decent contract somewhere and be a first team starter then all power to him. I don't see him starting for us and don't see us offering him a new contract.
So far this window has seen, assuming Watmore goes
- Luongo> Barlaser
- Watmore > Archer
That's looking like a serious upgrade with minimal disruption. Rumours of a mystery signing today and possibly Muniz returning to Fulham though I begin to suspect we'll have him for the rest of the season.
Last few windows have seen massive churn leading to the team getting destabilised so I would be perfectly happy if the Window ended as it is now.
Players who might leave in descending order of likelihood seem to be
Daniels, Muniz, McNair, Dijksteel & Bola. Though moving on Daniels and Muniz seem like good ideas, I think at this point we want to hang on to McNair, Dijksteel & Bola until the end of the season if we can.
As TeessideLive understand it, Duncan Watmore completed his Millwall medical yesterday and is set to be announced as a Lions player at some point today.
That, in turn, will leave Boro likely to looking to bring in a new wide forward.
It will be another interesting day for transfers today. But as Deriad said above, I am happy how the squad is now. Up the Boro!
I too am sorry to see Duncan Watmore move on.
We have rehabilitated him, but there will always be a question mark overt his longer term fitness and it is unlikely he would ever get a regular start with us these days. So, in line with most comments above, I am happy for him that he is going somewhere where he will be seen as a big upgrade and more likely to get a regular game.
If MC will be starting all of Akpom, Forss and Archer, we will need to have someone on the bench. Will someone be coming in today, or is that just idle speculation?
Many supporters will be checking to see which players are coming in and which are going out now that today is the last day with transfers.
I agree with previous comments that I’m disappointed that Watmore is leaving. I accept that his fitness only allowed up to around 60 minutes on the pitch for each game but in that time he always put a lot of effort into his play, scoring something like 21 goals in 90 appearances and rarely ever played a full 90 minutes - his goals scored was no mean achievement. He often raised the spirit of the supporters and, I think, raised the efforts of teammates. He will go down as a successful appointment. I would have thought that he was worth keeping to the end of the season as a back up if and when needed.
In my opinion, letting him go will only be successful if a replacement is recruited who is better in the short term to the end of the season and also better in the longer term. Maybe Archer is already regarded as his replacement.
My main wish in the remaining transfer hours is that the 3 or 4 players who don’t figure in MC ‘s plans can be moved on. It can’t be good for both parties if they “are hanging around “ just training to the end of the season knowing that it’s extremely unlikely they’ll be selected for a game.
If this could be achieved ( probably unlikely) and one or possibly two new players were brought in, then I think that would be the ultimate transfer window. However, I recognise that the ultimate rarely, if ever, happens.
Philip of Huddersfield
My main wish in the remaining transfer hours is that the 3 or 4 players who don’t figure in MC ‘s plans can be moved on. It can’t be good for both parties if they “are hanging around “ just training to the end of the season knowing that it’s extremely unlikely they’ll be selected for a game.
That is probably the situation with Watmore as far as Carrick is concerned. He's played significantly less under Carrick than any other of his Boro managers.
Although Carrick has been supportive of his players, he's clearly got a high standard he judges them against. You can see that McNair, Watmore, Dijksteel, Bola, & Muniz are all previous 1st teamers who he doesn't appear to regard as good enough to start a game. Jones is clearly on probation and Hoppe may or may not make it.
Unlike Wilder and Warnock who were vocal about the squad not being good enough, Carrick has quietly got to work with the players he thinks are good enough and making the best he can of the rest.
@martin-bellamy yes, you are correct. Aaron Ramsey is in.
The only surprise is that the young English man from Villa plays a different role than Watmore did.
Aaron Ramsey main position is as an attacking midfielder. His other position is central midfield. So not a winger as Watmore was.
Aaron was born in Birmingham on Jan 21, 2003. So he was 20 years old earlier this month.
He should not be mixed up with his 32-year-old Welsh namesake playing for Juventus and Nice. And formely at Arsenal.
Up the Boro!
@jarkko yes Jarkko. Saw the name and thought, NO not him. Still not sure where he will fit in as I know nothing about him.
I think he’s played with Archer at Villa, so hopefully they’ll know each other’s games.
Is it loan or a purchase?
Thanks OFB.
I suppose the thing about having a young pairing from Aston Villa, both on loan might be good for us as they already know each other's game. Ergo we benefit and perhaps we do achieve promotion. All the while AV can rub their hands because we have developed a pairing for them to benefit from next season.
Then what for us? We have to start again and replace them with new people to have to gel with the team/squad and so we start next season on the back foot.
I am not expressing an opinion here, just trying to see the two sides of the same coin.
I don’t know much about young Ramsey but he appears to have been good enough to hold down a starting place at Norwich, prior to the injury that ended his spell there.
Reading about his style of play, he seems to be in the McGree mould as a technical, creative midfielder. Perhaps he is more of a like-for-like replacement for the Australian than the more direct Watmore.
The injury situation is a strange one though, with it being serious enough for his loan at Norwich to be cancelled despite being a regular there and yet he’s back training and now with us.
Of the three January signings, only Archer looks to be an automatic starter. Barlaser and Ramsey may have to work their way into the team, which won’t be easy with the performances of Howson, Hackney and McGree but it does give us more options and depth, which will be vital.
Best wishes to Watmore. What a pro. Hard-working, honest, capable of superb goals and chaos in opposing defences - a man impossible to dislike. I hope he does well for himself at Millwall (without them overtaking us).
If he had a couple of years left on his contract then I’d be more disappointed but as it is, I think it’s the right move. He’s a 28yr old in a 35yr olds’ body (except Howson) and whilst I love and admire watching him, I don’t think he’s top quality for this division and never likely to be more than an impact sub. I do like that impact though.
Getting some kind of fee is decent business and one less salary to pay over the summer. We’ll miss his infectious energy I’m sure but hopefully we’ve upgraded on ability.
The injury situation is a strange one though, with it being serious enough for his loan at Norwich to be cancelled despite being a regular there and yet he’s back training and now with us
Think the idea is that we don't need him right away so he's come to build up fitness then provide another option as direct competition for McGree. May work out quite well because if he hadn't have been injured he would have been expecting to play straight away (plus he would still be at Norwich).
I see also Hoppe has joined Hibs for the rest of the season. That should give him a chance to get a run of games.
On the other hand, it looks like Muniz is staying.
I'm pretty happy with the transfer window if it ends like this.
GK: Steffen, Roberts, Daniels
RB: Smith, Dijksteel
CB: Fry, McNair
CB: Lenihan, Clarke
LB: Giles, Bola
CM: Howson, Barlaser
CM: Hackney, Mowatt
AMR: Forss, Jones
AMC: Chuba, Crooks
AML: McGree, Ramsey
CF: Archer, Muniz
Others. Boyd Munce
Feels like there's a lot more pace and creativity going forwards. Keeping McNair gives us cover for several positions in defence and midfield, likewise Crooks can play several roles in midfield and attack.
I agree. It’s a balanced squad with some capable youngsters both at home and out on loan. Coburn, Hoppe and Brynn should come back challenging for he first team and who knows whether Coulson could be another Carrick recovery project
Looking at it in the light of what happens next, it does feel that we've ended up over-reliant on loans. Loans have their advantages in that we can flex the squad more easily depending on what division we end up in but we are looking at *yet another* rebuild next summer.
Come June, I expect all the loans to go home and quite a few players on permanents to leave as well.
Loans returned. Steffen, Giles, Mowatt, Ramsey, Archer, Muniz
Possible transfers out/contracts ending: Dijksteel, Bola, McNair, Daniels, Lumley, Boyd Munce
I expect we'll negotiate new contracts with Howson and Smith.
This means that our squad in June looks holier than a string vest.
GK: ___ / Roberts / Brynn
RB: [Smith] / ___
CB: Fry / ___
CB Lenihan / [Clarke if recovered]
LB: ___ / ___ [think there's a fair chance we'll try and sign Giles]
CM: Barlaser / [Howson]
CM: Hackney / ___
AMR: Forss / Jones
#10: Akpom / Crooks
AML: McGree / ___
#9: ___ / Coburn
Others: Hoppe, Hemmings
That is a Notts Forest level of rebuild. On the plus side, we have a lot of flexibility to change targets based on what division we're in. If we're in the Championship, you would think that Coburn and Brynn would be potential starters and if Hoppe does well at Hibs he'll come into contention. Bilongo and Gitau may also make a step up. If we're in the Premier league we may be buying and loaning in 1/2 a new team.
@deleriad I am pretty happy with January window too.
We have two very good signings in Archer and Barlaser.
The third one in Ramsey is a young but interesting capture. He played regularly in the Norwich side earlier this season - at the time when they were top of the league. He got injured though and hence returned to Villa. I think during the World Cup break.
The only area I am a bit worried for depth is in AML: McGree, Ramsey. As we sold Watmore and loaned out Hoppe, we do not have real cover for McGree on the left.
I think Ramsey is an attacking central midfielder, at least according to Transfermarkt. So he might be more cover for Akpom than McGree.
I think long term, Hoppe would play on the left in AML. Hoppe played well in that position for the USA in the international against Columbia last week. And now Watmore is away, too 🤔.
Looks like we are not playing with wingers as Carrick prefers a striker like Forss on AMR, for example. It will be interesting to see if we will see Jones starting many matches in there. Especially so if Forss will continue to score goals! Marcus has scored six goals already, most in the past two months.
All in all, I think our starting eleven is stronger now than in December. Archer and Barlaser are real upgrades I think. And we are very quick and fluent in attacking now.
The only position we might be weak in depth is behind McGree. Let's hope he won't get injured - other than that we are OK.
And finally, we did not sign too many new players in one window. As known, I prefer to sign max. four new players per one transfer window. I think both Wilder and Warnock made this mistake in January. So I am over the moon for the patience now. Well done, Boro.
Up the Boro!
Very pleased with the new squad - so much so the foam hands are out and I am looking at rearranging my leave [currently in NEOM on a bachelor camp].
So Wembley it may be....
Come on Boro!!
@deleriad And I agree that we have too many loan players now. Meaning we might need to rebuilt too much in the summer time!
Mind, we might buy one or two of the loanees but still there is too many loans for my liking.
We should buy max four or five new per window.
Remember how many we bought in the summer after the promotion? I think it was more than ten. We made a big mistake there with Karanka.
Up the Boro!
@jarkko Any team that gets promotion to the EPL, especially those not just relegated, will have to bring in a big number of players to stay up (generally)
The exception, may have been Brentford in their first season. Ken may tell us.
You could be right about Ramsey but remember that McGree is an attacking central midfielder too, not a left winger. It's clear when we have the ball that he occupies central areas and is not one to run down the touchline. He comes inside into an awkward position to defend against, and allows the space for Giles to overlap. I suspect Ramsey will operate in a similar way, once fully fit.
I'd still like to see Forss on the left to be honest. He seems to have a hammer of a right foot and I think it could be even more weaponised if cutting in from the left. He has the pace to run in behind Rashford-style and get shots off.
@pedro But the core must become from the promoted team. If 10 to 14 new players are needed, the team dynamics are broken and the start will be awkward in Premier League. Remember Karanka in the EPL. Up the Boro!
Looking at it in the light of what happens next, it does feel that we've ended up over-reliant on loans. Loans have their advantages in that we can flex the squad more easily depending on what division we end up in but we are looking at *yet another* rebuild next summer.
Just to add, we have a dilemma in naming our match day squad now.
Teesside Live wrote: "While EFL rules permit clubs to register up to eight loan players each season, clubs are only permitted to name five in each individual match-day squad of 18. That means for Carrick, who is now working with six loanees, one will have to miss out on even making the bench each week.
"Based on what we've seen so far, it seems highly unlikely that, but for enforced absences, Zack Steffen, Ryan Giles or Cameron Archer will be left out anytime soon. That will leave new boy Aaron Ramsey battling with lesser-used Alex Mowatt and Rodrigo Muniz for the remaining two places left in the match-day 18 each game."
So we have one loanee too many. Up the Boro!
I'm pretty happy with the transfer window if it ends like this.
GK: Steffen, Roberts, Daniels
RB: Smith, Dijksteel
CB: Fry, McNair
CB: Lenihan, Clarke
LB: Giles, Bola
CM: Howson, Barlaser
CM: Hackney, Mowatt
AMR: Forss, Jones
AMC: Chuba, Crooks
AML: McGree, Ramsey
CF: Archer, Muniz
Others. Boyd Munce
Feels like there's a lot more pace and creativity going forwards. Keeping McNair gives us cover for several positions in defence and midfield, likewise Crooks can play several roles in midfield and attack.
Here is the same by Teesside Live. I think they copied your listing 😁. Up the Boro!