With the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season less than two weeks away, Premier League correspondent Richard Jolly provides his previews for each club. Here he looks at Middlesbrough.
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Back after a seven-year absence, Middlesbrough’s promotion was overseen by Jose Mourinho’s former assistant at Real Madrid, Aitor Karanka, but also eventful: the Spaniard seemed certain to leave the club in March, missed the match at Charlton Athletic after an apparent falling-out with his players and returned to lead them to the top flight.
Ambition is again apparent. Boro were the Championship’s biggest spenders last summer and their outlay is far greater than those of the other promoted clubs.
It feels a return to their recent glory days of the 1990s and 2000s when chairman Steve Gibson invested heavily.
Dutch midfielder Maarten de Roon, at £12 million (Dh58m), is their biggest summer buy and funds have also been spent on Danish winger Viktor Fischer and Spanish full-back Antonio Barragan while Gaston Ramirez, a catalytic loan signing last season, is now a permanent recruit.
The most high-profile additions, however, are Karanka’s compatriots Victor Valdes and Alvaro Negredo, men with considerable achievements in their past but a need to get their careers back on track.
The striker is especially significant: a criticism of Karanka’s Boro is that, while they have been defensively excellent, they have scored too few goals.
They ought to have the firepower to stay up now, though.
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Key Man: Victor Valdes
After two forgettable years, featuring injury, a falling-out with Louis van Gaal and a loan spell at Standard Liege, this is a belated chance to show why he was Barcelona’s first choice for a decade.
Pivotal Signing: Alvaro Negredo
Borrowed from Valencia, after two underwhelming seasons, Negredo struck 23 times in his only campaign in England, despite not scoring after January. The target man could add incision.
Point to Prove: Jordan Rhodes
The most consistent goalscorer in England’s lower leagues, with 137 goals in five years, he has never played in the Premier League. Some have pigeonholed Rhodes as a Championship player.
Crucial Factor: The defence
Boro’s was the most frugal in all four divisions last season. They were particularly hard to breach at home, conceding just eight goals. Can the centre-back duo of Ben Gibson and Daniel Ayala prove equally excellent at a higher level?
Predicted finish: 12th
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