"He's got potential" - Middlesbrough urged to consider loan deal for 2024/25 | OneFootball

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 a loan spell at Bristol Rovers last season in League One, Middlesbrough opted against sending Josh Coburn out on loan once again this campaign.

During his stint in the third tier, Coburn scored 10 goals and registered a single assist in 35 matches, but the loan spell was very much a tale of two halves.

To start the campaign, for example, Coburn was fantastic and was finding the back of the net freely. In his first 15 League One matches, the young forward had hit double digits in goals but soon after, things dried up.

Coburn would go on to feature in 20 more matches that season, but was unable to find the back of the net once again.

Coburn stayed at Boro for 23/24

Despite the goals drying up, Boro did not sanction another loan deal this season, with Coburn instead being a part of the club's Championship squad.

The 21-year-old has struggled to make a real impression, though, scoring five goals in 21 appearances and struggling with injury recently that has seen him ruled out since February.

With Coburn's struggles in mind, we got to thinking what the future holds for the young forward.

The 21-year-old is contracted at the Riverside Stadium until 2027, but will the club consider another loan deal next season.

Fan pundit urges Boro to consider loan

That is something FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit Dana Malt would like the club to consider.

Dana believes that Coburn has potential and could be a good player for Middlesbrough in the future, but for the time being, would benefit from regular football elsewhere.

"I've always maintained the opinion that Josh Coburn should have been loaned out this season,"Dana explained to FLW.

"I just think that would have been a more beneficial thing for him and he was all set to join Plymouth on loan but then certain things didn't materialise in regard to Boro signing a striker of their own, and that domino effect ultimately led to Boro pulling the plug on his move to Home Park.

"He's had a really difficult season. He's been carrying an injury for a lot of it and I think that has to be factored into how you view him right now.

"I have no doubt that he's got potential and that he can be a really decent option for us but I still maintain my stance that Josh Coburn should be loaned out.

"And, Boro are probably likely to bring in a striker this summer, so I think that ultimately he will fall a little bit down the pecking order and it's just a case of do you want him to play third choice striker for the season or would you rather see him loaned out and gaining experience elsewhere. I think you'd rather choose the latter.

"So yeah, I think Josh Coburn, for next season, I would quite like for him to be loaned out to get his fitness back up and get his performances back where they were when he first joined Bristol Rovers on loan as well.

"That was a really valuable experience for him and I think he would benefit from another one of those."