Right player, wrong time: The Middlesbrough flop now subject to €6.5m bid from Qatar: View | OneFootball

Julien De Sart signed for Middlesbrough back in 2016, but failed to become a first team regular. Now he's the subject of a big money move to Qatar.

Highlights

Former Middlesbrough flop Julien De Sart has been the subject of a €6.5m bid from Qatari side Al-Rayyan, after developing into one of the best central midfielders in Belgium during his three seasons with Gent.

The 29-year-old has been loving life back in his native Belgium, and after a stellar 2023/24 campaign, he's caught the attention of Qatari side Al-Rayyan, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.

An industrious box-to-box midfielder, De Sart racked up 51 appearances, whilst scoring seven times and registering a further four assists in all competitions for Gent last season.

But rewind to almost a decade earlier, and the young baby-faced Belgian arrived on Teesside as a central midfielder with the potential to become the player he inevitably has, but out of the door come the end of his first and only Middlesbrough contract.

So why did it not work out for De Sart at the Riverside Stadium? Were signs of his talent missed? Or was he the victim of a playing squad that simply couldn't make room for him? Football League World investigates.

De Sart found quality options ahead of him at Boro

A 2016 January deadline day signing for Middlesbrough, De Sart arrived from Belgian giants Standard Liege on a three-and-a-half year contract as a 21-year-old.

Signed during the tenure of Aitor Karanka, and in a season that would eventually see Boro win automatic promotion to the Premier League, De Sart joined a Middlesbrough side that was rife with talent.

He'd arrived with a reputation as one of Belgium's brightest young talents, having represented The Red Devils at every single age group from Under-16s to Under 21s.

De Sart would soon discover that his route to regular first team football was going to be a difficult one, however, as the strength of options Karanka had in central midfield would ultimately play a large role in his Middlesbrough downfall.

Club captain Grant Leadbitter was presented as an immovable object from the starting lineup, so he was competing for just one central midfield spot from the get-go, and that wasn't going to be easy either.

Adam Clayton had firmly cemented himself as Leadbitter's sidekick, having made 49 appearances in all competitions the season prior, after signing for the club from Huddersfield Town in 2014.

Adam Forshaw was also proving himself to be a more than capable rotational option too, and one that Karanka trusted to do a job whenever called upon, whilst Gaston Ramirez was strutting his stuff too.

De Sart would make just two Championship appearances in his debut 2015/16 campaign, and after promotion to the Premier League saw the likes of Marten De Roon added to Boro's central midfield ranks, the youngster was left out in the cold once again.

Loan moves to Derby County and Zulte Waregem would follow, and he impressed in both, but once again returned to Teesside at the start of the 2018/19 season with Leadbitter and Clayton still there, but now with the likes of Jonny Howson to compete with too.

That became yet another almost impossible task at this stage of his career, and as a result, De Sart left the club in 2018 to return to Belgium, after making just three total appearances as a Middlesbrough player.

De Sart has blossomed into one of Belgium's best

It appears, however, that leaving the north east and returning to Belgian football was the best decision De Sart has made in his career.

Since his move from Middlesbrough, De Sart has developed into one of the Belgian First Division's best central midfielders, as he's become a rock in the heart of Gent's midfield.

Now 29, De Sart's 2023/24 season was nothing short of phenomenal. His 87 tackles won, 77 interceptions, 306 recoveries, 62.2% duels won ratio and 309 accurate long balls, were all the most of any Belgian First Division central midfielder last season - per FotMob.

Meanwhile, his 2,770 touches and 81 shots were both only bettered by two percent of Belgian First Division players last term (per FotMob). In simpler terms, De Sart can, and has been doing it all for Gent.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise to see him being linked with a financially lucrative switch to the Middle East, but it's also hard to blame Middlesbrough for letting him slip through their fingers.

After all, De Sart was a young, raw player when he signed for Middlesbrough, and having came when the club were in the midst of their most successful period since the mid-200s, he faced an almost impossible task of replacing any of Boro's midfield stars at that stage.

As such, it looks to be a case of the right player at the wrong time as far as Boro are concerned. They clearly saw the talent and potential in De Sart which has become a reality, but they just couldn't justify benching the likes of Leadbitter, Clayton or De Roon, which is also fair enough.