Out-on-loan Middlesbrough man hints at permanent Riverside Stadium departure | OneFootball

Middlesbrough left-back Hayden Coulson has suggested that he could leave the club on a permanent basis at the end of this season.

Coulson came through the youth ranks at ‘Boro, and has since gone onto make 49 first-team appearances in all competitions for the Championship club.

But after falling down the pecking order at the Riverside Stadium, the full-back spent last season on loan at Ipswich and Peterborough, where he struggled for game time.

As a result, the 24-year-old made another temporary move away from Middlesbrough in the summer, joining Aberdeen on loan, where he has so far made six appearances for the Scottish Premiership team.

With his contract at Middlesbrough now set to expire at the end of the current campaign, it now seems as though Coulson is starting to think about a longer term exit from the club, potentially with Aberdeen.

Did Middlesbrough win, lose or draw the last time they played at these 18 stadiums?

1 of 18

Oakwell

Win Draw Loss

Speaking about the possibility of a permanent move away from Middlesbrough in the summer, the defender told The Press and Journal: “This is a chance to show what I can do and if that means staying at Aberdeen or progressing my career elsewhere. I just need to crack on.

“Over the past couple of years it has been tough for me personally – With loan moves not working out, either due to injury or managers moving on and things like that. I think it’s time to settle down now.

“I’m going into my last year at Middlesbrough, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I want to play this season up here to get up to scratch and show what I can do and then take it from there.

“This is definitely a big platform, especially with the teams in this league. There are good teams and it’s a good shop window for clubs to be looking at.”

The Verdict

It does seem as though Coulson is right to think about a permanent move away from Middlesbrough.

Given his recent lack of game time at The Riverside Stadium, and the fact that he is out of contract in the summer, it doesn’t feel like he has much of a future with the Championship club.

As a result, he is going to have to ensure he can keep his other options open in order to ensure he can keep his career going, especially given he is at an age where he should be establishing himself as a first-team regular for one particular club.

With that in mind, you feel there may be a number of clubs who will be taking an interest in the performances of the left-back over the course of the next few months.