Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit tells Middlesbrough they will miss Finn Azaz after Southampton transfer | OneFootball

EFL pundit Lee Hendrie has told Football League World that Middlesbrough will miss Finn Azaz, after his move to Southampton.

Southampton ended the summer transfer window with a bang, having had a quiet few months up until the final two weeks of the market being open.

It has been a mixed start to the season for the south coast outfit on the pitch, with a dramatic and late come from behind victory to defeat newly-promoted Wrexham on the opening day their only win in the Championship so far this season.

Since then, they shared a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road before a 2-1 loss at home to Stoke City, and then there was a frustrating 2-2 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road.

The sales of Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes though saw the floodgates open when it came to new arrivals, and after a slow and quiet start to the transfer window, the first of their big moves was to poach current Championship leader Middlesbrough’s star attacking midfielder in the process.

It hasn’t quite hurt Boro just yet given how well they are doing on the pitch under Rob Edwards, but after Finn Azaz completed a £12 million move from Teesside down to the south coast, there is an expectation that in time, they may come to miss the Irishman.

Lee Hendrie tells Middlesbrough they will eventually miss Finn Azaz following Southampton move

Azaz, who moved to Middlesbrough from Plymouth Argyle in January 2024, has been the chief creator for the Teesside outfit since his arrival at the Riverside Stadium, but they don’t yet appear to be feeling his loss.

Rob Edwards’ side managed to defeat Sheffield United last weekend to take their league record to four wins out of four going into the first international break of the season, and that leaves Borositting at the top-of-the-table with the only 100% record in the whole of the EFL left intact.

According to Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie, though, speaking exclusively to Football League World, Middlesbrough will eventually miss Azaz, simply due to the quality that the former Aston Villa man possesses.

“Yes (they will miss him)," Hendrie told FLW.

"Finn Azaz, I think has got better and better over seasons.

"His maturity, his game-play, he can play in a ten, which is his best position for me.

“He creates and he can cause problems.

"You only have to look at his numbers, goals, assists and there’s no surprise that one of the promotion pushing teams in Southampton, having lost players to Premier League clubs, it’s no surprise that this has happened.”

Middlesbrough's summer transfer dealings mean Finn Azaz may not be missed

Having managed to keep hold of star midfielder Hayden Hackney, Middlesbrough themselves also finished the summer transfer window with a bit of a flurry, as they seek to mount a sustained challenge for promotion this season.

On deadline day, Boro brought in striker David Strelec for an undisclosed fee from Slovan Bratislava, and he wasn't the only attacking arrival who can either play up-front or in the immediate positions behind.

Sontje Hansen arrived from NEC Nijmegen, Senegalese striker Kaly Sene is somewhat of a punt from Lausanne, Sverre Nypan has come in from Man City on loan with a big reputation after the 18-year-old plied his trade in Norwegian outfit Rosenborg, where he played 70 times as a teenager.

Morgan Whittaker, Riley McGree and Delano Burgzorg are all current options too when they are all fit, so with the depth that Boro and Rob Edwards now have at that end of the pitch, it's fair to say that Azaz may not be as missed as once feared when he departed for Southampton in the first place.