Luke Ayling features: 3 Middlesbrough stars including "luxury player" sent Rob Edwards transfer warnings | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has been discussing those Boro players who may not feature in Rob Edwards' Riverside plans.

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...

Rob Edwards is to become Middlesbrough's new head coach, and will lead the club into a vital summer transfer window at the Riverside Stadium.

The 42-year-old is taking his first steps back into management with Boro after his departure from Luton Town in early January of this year.

After finishing 10th in the Championship last season, Michael Carrick's side fell comfortably short of their Premier League promotion remit, which was no doubt a big factor behind the club's decision to part ways with him earlier this month.

Once Edwards has got his feet under the table at the Riverside, he will have a big task on his hands determining where and how he wants to strengthen his squad, and which heads need to roll in order to facilitate those new arrivals.

"Where would he fit?" - three Middlesbrough players sent Rob Edwards transfer warnings

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Phil Auton: 'Rob Edwards is set to undergo a busy summer of recruitment as the new Boro boss. In order to facilitate that, exits will need to happen. Who do you think are at the most risk of not fitting into Edwards' plans, and why?'

Auton said: "I think the first one that comes into mind is probably Delano Burgzorg.

"He's a little bit of a luxury player, the type of player you love to have when you're 3-0 up and he's dribbling past players, but when you're up against it, sometimes doesn't always put a shift in.

"That's maybe doing him a little bit of a disservice, but he plays on the left wing, and then Michael Carrick moved him to the right which didn't really work.

"Edwards is renowned for playing wing-backs, three at the back and then wing-backs either side, so given that and what you would call our other 'standard' central midfielders, I don't quite know where he would fit into that.

"I think the other one would be Riley McGree. This is based on his lack of appearances last season and fitness. He's played for Australia in their World Cup qualifiers recently and did really well, and got a great assist against Japan.

"He's similar in the fact of he's not a sort of central midfielder as such, he's not a winger, he just plays in that kind of inverted left role, and again, with Edwards playing wing-backs, I don't quite know where he would fit.

"The other one would probably be Luke Ayling. I think if Edwards is to play wing-backs, I think Ayling five/six years ago would've been fantastic - one of the best in the league. His legs have certainly gone, so I don't know whether he could play that role.

"If we moved him into the middle to play as part of a back three, we've got ample centre-backs, so you'd kind of be doing one of the other ones a disservice by putting him in.

"So, I'd say Ayling would probably be another one that would maybe struggle to get in."

Middlesbrough may find it difficult to move on all three of Ayling, McGree and Burgzorg this summer

2024/25 was a highly disappointing season for Middlesbrough, and none of Burgzorg, McGree or Ayling had the impact they would've been hoping for.

However, should Boro wish to move on these three players this summer, they may well find it difficult for various reasons.

Starting with McGree, the 26-year-old Australian international has struggled to stay fit over the last two seasons, having made just 26 appearances in all competitions in 2023/24, before following that up with just 18 this past season.

Crucially, the midfielder is contracted at the Riverside until the summer of 2028, meaning Boro would surely only be willing to accept a premium price for him this summer, and there may not be an influx of interest as a result.

Moving over to Burgzorg, the Dutch winger only signed for Middlesbrough last summer from Mainz, and he also put pen to paper on a four-year contract.

The 26-year-old bagged six goals and two assists in 44 total appearances in his debut season with the club, which probably isn't a return that will see clubs scrambling to sign him this summer.

Then there's Ayling, who at 33, is very much moving towards the twilight years of his career.

The former Leeds United man endured a rough 2024/25, and with just 12 months remaining on his contract, Middlesbrough will surely find it very challenging to flog him to another club for a transfer fee this summer, when he is set to become a free agent next summer.

As such, whilst these three Boro players may not have obvious fits in Edwards' system, the club may well find it tough to move them on this summer, if that's their wish.