Middlesbrough transfer mistake could turn out to be a blessing in disguise: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

Middlesbrough moved quickly during the early stages of the transfer window to get some of their business done.

Alex Gilbert, Rav van den Berg, Tom Glover, Morgan Rogers, Sam Silvera and Seny Dieng all arrived within a few days of each other - and Jamie Jones also joined in July to strengthen Michael Carrick's side's goalkeeping department.

However, Boro have more to do in the transfer window if they are to assert themselves as promotion competitors again, with the club arguably needing replacements for Ryan Giles and Cameron Archer.

Replacing the latter may be less of a priority at this point considering the existing options they have.

Matthew Hoppe, Josh Coburn and Marcus Forss can all operate centrally along with others including Rogers if required, so there's no shortage of depth.

They just need an injection of extra quality to add more attacking firepower to their squad.

Following Giles' departure, Hayden Coulson and Marc Bola were Boro's remaining natural options at left-back.

However, Bola has since sealed a switch to Turkish side Samsunspor and this has left them short in this position.

They wanted last season's loanee Giles to return to the Riverside, but he opted to join Luton Town after the Hatters and his former side Wolverhampton Wanderers were able to come to an agreement.

And with just a matter of days left to go until the start of the Championship season, this is a position they find themselves needing more depth in.

For all their hard work earlier in the window, they are still in need of more players and Carrick may be slightly disappointed that he hasn't got a new natural left-back at his disposal.

In fairness to the Teesside outfit though, they may have waited on Giles for quite a while to see whether he was going to return to the Riverside.

The window doesn't close for another month either - another reason why it isn't a total disaster that Boro haven't fully addressed their left-back area yet.

How could this failure to address the left-back department benefit Middlesbrough?

Coulson may get a chance to start on the opening day - and you have to say he's the major winner from this current situation.

Carrick would have seen the 25-year-old in action throughout pre-season and with that, Boro's manager should now have a better idea of how to get the best out of him.

Assistant boss Jonathan Woodgate knows Coulson extremely well anyway - and that will only benefit his chances of starting on the opening day.

At 25, he could end up being an excellent long-term asset at the Riverside, having put pen to paper on a new deal after enjoying a productive spell out on loan at Aberdeen last term.

And if he can impress on the opening day and perform well consistently in the coming weeks, the Teesside club may not need to fork out a huge amount of money to bring in a replacement for Giles.

You feel a left-back will come in - but whether a starter or a backup is recruited may depend on Coulson's performances.