Out-on-loan player’s Premier League links should be a concern for Middlesbrough first-teamer: Opinion | OneFootball

Swindon Town loanee Sol Brynn has been attracting interest from sides in the Premier League and Championship, according to a report from Football Insider in January.

Currently on loan from Middlesbrough, there could be a place for him in Michael Carrick’s first team next season, with Luke Daniels’ contract coming to an end at the end of the campaign and Joe Lumley probably unlikely to be to stay either.

However, he may face a battle for a starting spot at the Riverside and may find it hard to play many games on Teesside next season, regardless of which division Boro find themselves in.

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Zack Steffen may be set to return to Manchester City at the end of the season – but there were whispers last year that they were planning to make the United States international’s stay at the Riverside permanent.

Even if the American doesn’t stay, you could easily see a replacement coming in, not just because Steffen has been a regular starter but also because they are likely to have the funds needed to recruit someone else.

That could leave Liam Roberts on the bench again – but with Brynn potentially on his way back and Carrick possibly wanting to take a closer look at the Swindon loanee during pre-season – the former may face the prospect of being relegated to third-choice keeper.

This would be a real blow for Roberts who isn’t coming to the end of his career and will want to be part of Boro’s matchday squad for the long term, potentially even having aspirations of starting regularly at some point.

Being relegated to third choice won’t help that – and Carrick has shown in the past that he’s willing to have a senior player as a third stopper with Daniels currently taking up that role.

And even without considering Brynn, a couple of keepers could be recruited if they win promotion to the Premier League because they would have the license to spend, something else that would push Roberts down the pecking order.

With this in mind, the 28-year-old needs to engage in talks with Carrick about how much playing time he will get next season and from there, weigh up what to do next.

A loan exit may be beneficial for him, though he may also want to push for a permanent switch considering he’s 28 now and won’t want to keep moving from one loan club to another throughout the remainder of his stay on Teesside.