"Snapped up" - Claim made around Middlesbrough's Rav van den Berg as potential outlined | OneFootball

Our Middlesbrough fan pundit discussed who the club's brightest talent currently is

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After reaching the play-offs under Michael Carrick during the 2022/23 campaign, expectations were high at the Riverside Stadium ahead of his first full season in charge, but Middlesbrough failed to live up to them.

Carrick's side finished in eighth place, by no means a bad season, but the club were expected to kick-on in what was the former Manchester United man's first full campaign in charge.

However, the 2024/25 campaign represents a good chance to put things right, and you'd have thought that reaching the play-offs would be a non-negotiable for Boro this time around.

The club have some excellent players on their books, and you feel that if the club don't compete for promotion in the coming season, they'll have to wave goodbye to some of these players next summer as they'd have outgrown the club.

Rav van den Berg hailed as Middlesbrough's most promising player

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Phil Spencer, which player at the club has the highest ceiling, and it's clear that he believes defender Rav van den Berg will go on and achieve big things in the game.

The 19-year-old joined Boro last summer, and has become a regular starter in Carrick's side, despite his age.

Speaking to Football League World, Phil said: "For me, Rav van den Berg is the Middlesbrough player with the highest ceiling at the club currently.

"There’s an argument to say that Hayden Hackney is in contention as well. He’s a player who will play in the Premier League in the years to come, he’s got real class in the centre of the midfield and can only see him going on and doing well in the Premier League, and perhaps playing for one of the bigger clubs in the division.

"For me, Rav van den Berg’s potential is endless, and it’s completely up to him how far he goes. What we’ve seen from him so far at Middlesbrough is such a level of maturity for such a young player.

"He came in, and he was expected to come in and supplement the first-team and learn and adapt to the Championship and maybe take a little bit of time to do so, but he just looked like an experienced professional. He came in with the leadership skills and self-confidence that you need to thrive.

"He came in, and he wasn’t perfect to start with, but to be fair to him, he had to play in a few different positions, so he was thrown in at the deep end a little bit, but he didn’t complain and got on with things.

"He did make a couple of mistakes early on but, unlike other players, his head didn’t go down, he just brushed himself off and got on with the game and learned from the errors that he made and kicked on.

"What we saw over the course of the campaign was a player who looked very assured at the heart of Middlesbrough’s defence, and it was a great breakthrough season and I firmly believe that this season, should Boro keep hold of him this summer, that he will be one of the best defenders in the Championship. "In terms of how far he can go, I can see him going all the way and playing in the Champions League and being that level of player because, as I said, his technical ability, his defensive play and his ability to read danger is absolutely outstanding. "There’s so much maturity in his game for a player of his age, and I think his temperament and his leadership shows how driven an individual he is and one that has the confidence, but is humble enough to learn and grow, and that attitude will see him rise through the ranks in the game of football.

"As far as Middlesbrough are concerned, if we can keep hold of him this summer, we’ve got another season before he gets snapped up by one of the big boys in the Premier League or around Europe, because he has the potential to become that good and one of the best defenders in Europe."

When he joined last summer, van den Berg would have been an unknown quantity for most Boro supporters, but it didn't take long to make an impact.

Not too many people would have expected him to play so many games in his first season in English football, but the Dutchman proved his worth and became one of the first names on the teamsheet.

In total, he played 39 games in all competitions for Carrick's side, and even wore the captain's armband for a game against Stoke City in March, a pretty impressive achievement for a 19-year-old.

Boro will be grateful that they've got van den Berg tied down until 2027, but if he continues performing as he has, it would be a surprise if he's still at the club at that point.

Signing van den Berg was a masterstroke by Boro, and if he's still at the club when the 2024/25 campaign rolls around, they have every chance of being in the mix for the play-offs.