Opinion: Why Middlesbrough can’t afford to lose another Premier League quality wing-back | OneFootball

Djed Spence’s departure from Middlesbrough seemed inevitable after a truly stunning season on loan at Nottingham Forest as they forced their way back up into the Premier League via the playoffs.

A lot has changed since the time of Spence’s being loaned out, however. Neil Warnock, the man who was arguably mistaken in sending him away, has left.

In his place arrived a fresh manager with a fresh tactical approach in Chris Wilder. Isaiah Jones was deemed to be the most suitable replacement for the departed Spence and enjoyed the best year of his fledgling career with 10 goal contributions from wing-back, 70% of those coming post-Wilder.

Boro recouped £13m for Spence in the summer from Spurs, all while his replacement at Boro quietly signed a contract extension until the summer of 2025.

Jones had attracted interest from Arsenal, West Ham and indeed Spurs throughout last year, but might have a tougher time of keeping hold of their star man this time around after a sizzling start to the season.

Now firmly embedded in Wilder’s system and a sure-fire fixture in his starting XI, Jones seems to have blossomed into one of the division’s best wing backs this term.

Jones has put up a goal and two assists across three games this year already, matching his goal contributions from last year’s opening three fixtures but this time in his role at right-back rather than up front or on the left wing.

He and Ryan Giles have been essential to providing width in Wilder’s 3 at-the-back system, even in spite of the latter’s unfortunate own goal which cost them 3 points against the manager’s former employers, Sheffield United. This time around, Boro can no longer afford to let their promising right wing-back go at an early stage of the season.

This summer inevitably led to interest from teams like Chelsea and Manchester United, but Jones himself has confirmed his intention to stick around this window.

As a Championship team, Boro are always liable to having their most promising talents poached away, and at the very least the lengthy extension Jones signed last year combined with his scintillating form should be enough to combine an eight-figure fee.

That being said, however, players of his kind and at his age are thin on the ground. If the worst did happen, Boro would be forced to forced to move Anfernee Dijksteel back out to the right, a shame given his stellar form on the right side of central defence, or replace Jones with experienced backup Tommy Smith.

Both potential replacements are solid, but neither offer the threat going forward of Jones, with Dijksteel putting up 3 asissts in 91 games across his career at The Riverside and Smith being perhaps more suited to Wilder’s overlapping right centre-back role following his arrival from Stoke City.

Put simply, Middlesbrough can’t afford to lose Isaiah Jones. Fortunately, the defender seems keen on sticking around for now, but if his form continues and Boro don’t secure promotion this year, expect the Premier League sharks to start circling back in for him.