27-year-old could depart Middlesbrough with 24-cap international targeted as replacement | OneFootball

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Football League World

·16 January 2021

27-year-old could depart Middlesbrough with 24-cap international targeted as replacement

Article image:27-year-old could depart Middlesbrough with 24-cap international targeted as replacement

Middlesbrough are set to field offers for midfielder Lewis Wing after it emerged that the Teesside club are in the race for Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane, per TEAMtalk.

Wing was a surprise signing from non-league outfit Shildon in 2017 following a prolific spell at the County Durham-based side.


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A loan move to League Two Yeovil Town in the same season he moved to the Riverside saw Wing’s career really take off, and it was following the conclusion of that spell at Huish Park where he really got a chance at Boro.

The long-shot specialist scored 10 times in 68 league appearance in the last two seasons for Boro, but since Neil Warnock arrived as manager he has been a bit-part player, often spending his time on the substitutes’ bench.

The 27-year-old has made 11 appearances in the league this season, and scored his only goal of the season in a 4-1 away win over Birmingham last month – but it may end up being his last.

There is likely to be lower-end Championship clubs and League One teams that will be interested in the central midfielder, and with Hourihane potentially arriving at the club this month it would just push Wing further down the pecking order.

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Article image:27-year-old could depart Middlesbrough with 24-cap international targeted as replacement

The Verdict

It makes sense for Boro to look at getting Wing out of the door if Hourihane is a major target.

It’s unlikely that Wing is on a big wage at the club, but Warnock has a decent amount of depth to work with in his engine room, and Wing would hardly get any minutes should a deal be completed for the Irishman.

The likes of Wycombe, Coventry and play off-chasing League One clubs should really all be looking at Wing as an option to strengthen their ranks for the rest of the season and beyond, as he has too many goals in his locker to be sitting on the bench at the Riverside.

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