Middlesbrough FC must send scouts to watch Brondby star and Ben Cabango, here's why | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at two players Boro must scout in January as contingency plans in case two of their stars make winter exits.

Middlesbrough will be preparing for what could be a vital upcoming January transfer window, as Michael Carrick's side look to get over the Premier League promotion line this season.

Boro look to have all the ingredients within their squad to make a real push for the top-flight this term, as multiple strong transfer windows have filled Carrick's squad with highly talented players at Championship level.

However, Middlesbrough have maxed out their 25-man squad registration numbers, meaning should they wish to sign any player that isn't under the age of 21 or on loan in January, they would have to first de-register or sell a player.

With Carrick, head of football Kieran Scott and the club's recruitment team always searching for ways to improve the squad, there could be some exits at the Riverside in the new year, with the potential for a star player or two to seal a big-money switch.

As such, contingency plans will surely be in place in the event that they lose a key player or two. With that in mind, FLW takes a look at two players Middlesbrough must scout with the January window in mind.

2 Mathias Kvistgaarden

Striker, Brondby IF

Centre-forward won't be an area of the pitch that Middlesbrough will feel they need to strengthen if Emmanuel Latte Lath remains on Teesside in January, but with fantastic performances paired with ever-growing rumblings of Premier League interest, that if is seemingly becoming bigger with each passing game.

West Ham United were understood to have had a scout in attendance to watch the Ivorian international fire a hat-trick past Oxford United on 23 November, and it's fair to say he will have received a glittering report.

Ipswich Town had a £20m approach rebuffed by Boro in the final hours of the summer window, which it was reported that Lath was frustrated with seeing his Premier League opportunity blocked by the club.

As such, it can't be said with total confidence that he will remain a Middlesbrough player in January, and if he doesn't, signing a replacement will become a top priority in the new year for Carrick.

In Brondby IF striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, however, Boro could find it. The 22-year-old Denmark youth international has been lighting up the Danish Superligaen for a number of seasons, and he's been in scintillating form in-front of goal once again this season, as he's well into double figures heading into the league's winter break.

Kvistgaarden could be Lath's ideal replacement for a number of reasons. Firstly, the young Dane shares a strikingly similar amount of traits as Boro's Ivorian.

Like Lath (approx 5'10"), the Brondby centre-forward isn't a tall centre-forward (approx 5'8"), but he's superb in the air, scoring numerous amounts of headed goals whilst displaying a fantastic ability to leap off the ground.

Kvistgaarden is also very much a two-footed player, who is confident and natural with the ball at his feet on either foot. He's quick, sharp and instinctive inside the box, whilst also has a real creative eye when it comes to picking out his teammates for assists.

Crucially, he's also confessed to being interested in an overseas move away from Brondby in the near future. “It would be great if a lot of things came from outside," Kvistgaarden told Danish news outlet Bold recently.

“You dream of leaving at some point. There are still games left, and if that were to happen, then you know that you are standing, and suddenly, you have the last few games in the Brondby shirt this time around. So right now, I’m just looking towards the next game. I am enjoying every single second I wear this shirt.”

1 Ben Cabango

Centre-back, Swansea City

Boro's centre-back options may appear strong and deep, but that could quickly change if certain dominoes fall in a particular way.

Matt Clarke is out of contract at the end of the season (Boro do have the option to extend his contract by another 12 months), whilst George Edmundson is only on loan for the 2024/25 campaign, and Dael Fry and Darragh Lenihan are both only contracted at the club through 2026, and could be looking for respective moves away if regular game time isn't guaranteed at the Riverside.

Rav van den Berg is a player that Middlesbrough will be continuously fighting to keep hold of so long as he remains on Teesside too, with Crystal Palace understood to be readying a January approach for the Dutch youth international.

Spurs were also heavily linked with a move for Boro's starlet in the summer, and he could be a player that the Teessiders could decide to cash-in on in the winter window.

As such, the signing of a new central defender could be of greater importance than it would seem, and certainly if Van den Berg does depart in January. If he does, then Swansea City's Welsh international centre-back Ben Cabango could be the perfect replacement.

The 24-year-old has established himself as one of the Championship's best central defenders in recent seasons, and already has five second tier campaigns under his belt.

He is out of contract at the Swansea.com Stadium at the end of the season, and January could be a time in which he sees fit to pursue a new opportunity elsewhere.

Like Van den Berg, Cabango is a comfortable and confident ball-playing defender, a player who more often than not comes out the victor in his individual duels, and who can chip in with goals and assists too.