Middlesbrough: Surprise 2022 signing has likely played his last game for the Teessiders: View | OneFootball

Highlights

The 2022 summer transfer window proved to be a rather busy one at The Riverside Stadium for Middlesbrough.

Having finished seventh in the Championship the season before to narrowly miss out on a play-off place, the club were looking to further strengthen their squad to go one better the following campaign.

As a result, the summer of 2022 saw no fewer than ten new players added to the Teessiders' senior squad before the window closed at the end of August.

However, while some of those signings looked to be eye-catching and sensible deals, there were others that appeared to be somewhat more surprising.

Among those to make the move to The Riverside Stadium during that aforementioned period, was Liam Roberts.

The goalkeeper moved to Middlesbrough on a free transfer, following the expiration of his contract with Northampton Town.

While 'Boro did admittedly need a goalkeeper at that point, Roberts did seem like something of a surprising signing for them to make, given he was leaving a League Two club to move up to divisions to a club with eyes on promotion to the Premier League.

Now, that is arguably reflected in the way that things have worked out for the goalkeeper since his move to Middlesbrough.

Indeed, there is an even an argument that as a result of that, the 29-year-old may well have already played his final game for the club.

Having made his move to The Riverside, the goalkeeper then struggled to establish himself with the Championship side last season.

In total, he made just four league appearances for Middlesbrough last season, playing second-choice to Manchester City loanee Zack Steffen.

While Steffen would depart following the expiration of his loan deal, that did not lead to any fresh opportunity for Roberts at The Riverside this season.

Instead, he too was allowed to move on from the club, albeit on a temporary basis for the time being, joining League One side Barnsley on loan until the end of this season.

However, while that was not a long-term exit from the club, it seems as though it was only delaying the inevitable when it comes to a permanent move away from Middlesbrough for Roberts.

With their two senior goalkeepers both departing in the summer in Steffen and Roberts, Middlesbrough were again busy in that position in the lead-up to this season.

The club brought in two new goalkeepers in the form of Seny Dieng and Tom Glover, with both signing long-term deals at the club.

It is therefore hard to see there being much need for Middlesbrough to keep Roberts in the summer, especially considering the fact that in Sol Brynn and Zach Hemming, they also have two other promising young 'keepers impressing out on loan, who will want to compete for a first-team spot.

As a result, with so many other options who have cases to be further up the pecking order than him, there would seem to be little point in Middlesbrough extending Roberts' contract, when his current deal expires this summer.

It is also worth noting that the goalkeeper himself, has recently suggested that he would like his time with Barnsley to go beyond his current loan spell at Oakwell, there may be little desire from Roberts to extend his deal with 'Boro either.

So with all that in mind, it would feel like a big surprise to see Roberts playing in a Middlesbrough shirt again, when everything seems to suggests that a parting of the ways would be the most suitable outcome for all involved.