Middlesbrough: Neil Warnock's contacts were "very impressed" by 2021 recruit - it was a total disaster in the end | OneFootball

Boro looked to have pulled off a major coup with the signing of James Lea Siliki, and Neil Warnock was confident he'd be a Riverside success.

Middlesbrough's 2021 signing of Rennes midfielder James Lea Siliki had all the makings of being a highly shrewd addition by Neil Warnock, but his Riverside career flopped massively.

After steering Boro away from their dance with danger in the 2019/20 season, Warnock was able to guide Middlesbrough to a 10th-placed finish in the Championship in the 2020/21 campaign.

As such, optimism was high on Teesside that the club was beginning to move in the right direction again, with the veteran boss laying solid foundations for future success.

It was hoped that Boro could build on their top-half finish, and make a real push for the play-offs in the 2021/22 season, but if they were to do so, they would need to enjoy a strong summer of recruitment.

Neil Warnock and his contacts were confident James Lea Siliki would be a Middlesbrough success

Boro would make a number of splashes in the 2021 summer transfer window; Martin Payero, Matt Crooks and Uche Ikpeazu all arrived for various sums of money.

A handful of loan additions were made too, with Andraz Sporar and Onel Hernandez joining from Sporting and Norwich respectively.

The third temporary signing Middlesbrough made that summer was Rennes midfielder James Lea Siliki, who made the switch to Teesside on a season-long loan from the French Ligue 1 side.

25 at the time, Siliki brought a pedigree and CV to Boro that demanded respect. He'd made 84 Ligue 1 appearances during his five years in the club's senior team, he'd played Champions League football with them and won the French Cup in 2018/19, and had also just taken his first steps into the international game with Cameroon.

As such, his signature understandably got Middlesbrough fans excited, as their club appeared to have pulled off a significant coup. Warnock and his contacts certainly thought so too.

Speaking to the club website via BBC Sport in August 2021, Warnock said: "James is another name that came up and he will be another good addition to the squad.

"My contacts in France are very impressed with him and we feel he will add to what we have, particularly with his range of passing."

Siliki endures torrid Middlesbrough spell, and leaves the club having been a major disappointment

Unfortunately for Middlesbrough, Warnock and his contacts weren't on the money with their assessment of what Siliki would bring to the Riverside.

The central midfielder would make just 11 Championship appearances for the club that season, and even made a couple of appearances playing for Middlesbrough's academy side.

Siliki's passing accuracy of 59.3 percent ranked him in the bottom 10 percentile of Championship central midfielders that season (per FotMob), as he really struggled to make the transition to English football.

Upon taking over from Warnock, Chris Wilder quickly deemed the midfielder as being surplus to requirements, and was even attempting to find him another club during the 2022 January transfer window.

However, no such move materialised, and following the expiration of his contract with Rennes that summer, Siliki would sign for Portuguese side Estoril on a free transfer.

Siliki tried his best to make his Middlesbrough move work, but in the end, it just didn't happen for him in English football, and it's certainly a deal that Boro won't wish to replicate any time soon.