£2.5m Middlesbrough FC transfer gamble will go down as one of the club's worst | OneFootball

Striker Matthew Hoppe's big money move to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022 turned out to be a disaster.

Middlesbrough have had a strong record in the transfer market in recent years, but it is fair to say that the signing of striker Matthew Hoppe did not work out.

Middlesbrough's recruitment has been led by Head of Football Kieran Scott since his arrival in September 2021, and he previously worked at Norwich City, where he helped Daniel Farke build two Championship title-winning squads.

Scott has focused on bringing in mainly younger players that can develop at the club before being sold on for big money in the future, and it has largely been a successful policy, with the likes of Rav van den Berg, Aidan Morris, Finn Azaz, Morgan Rogers, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Tommy Conway all thriving at the Riverside Stadium in recent years.

However, such a strategy also comes with significant risks, and Scott has been responsible for overseeing a few failed deals, with Hoppe perhaps going down as his biggest transfer mistake.

Hoppe joined Boro from Spanish side Mallorca for a fee of around £2.5 million in the summer of 2022, and while his signing was always going to be a gamble, his time on Teesside went far worse than anyone could have predicted.

Middlesbrough took a big gamble with Matthew Hoppe deal

Hoppe started his career in the United States before making the move to Schalke in the summer of 2019, and after progressing through the academy ranks at the Veltins-Arena, he made a big impact after his introduction to the first-team.

The 23-year-old scored his first senior goals for Schalke when he netted a hat-trick in their 4-0 win over Hoffenheim in January 2021, and he could not have picked a better time to open his account as the victory ended the club's 30-game winless run, which also helped them avoid equalling an unwanted Bundesliga record.

Hoppe was a shining light during an incredibly dark time for the fallen German giants, and after continuing to impress during the rest of the season on the way to relegation, he earned himself a €3.5 million (£3 million) move to Spanish side Mallorca in August 2021.

Having also made his debut for the United States national team during the summer, Hoppe would have hoped that he would be able to kick on in a more stable environment at Mallorca, but he made just seven appearances for the La Liga outfit in the 2021-22 season, failing to get on the scoresheet.

Hoppe's disappointing record at Mallorca did not deter Middlesbrough from paying big money for him in the summer of 2022, and the fact that he was handed a four-year contract was a big show of faith from Scott, but the move quickly turned into a nightmare for all parties.

Matthew Hoppe's Middlesbrough spell turned out to be a disaster

Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder did speak positively about Hoppe after his arrival, but tellingly, he also described him as a "development striker" and admitted that he "needs work", suggesting that he may have not been overly enamoured with the signing.

In even more pointed comments from Wilder, he revealed that he turned down Hoppe's request to wear the number nine shirt, instead choosing to leave it blank in preparation for the addition of a more experienced striker.

Unsurprisingly, Hoppe rarely made the matchday squad under Wilder in the early stages of the 2022-23 season, making just two substitute appearances prior to his sacking in October, but he did not fare much better under his successor, Michael Carrick.

With the likes of Chuba Akpom, Marcus Forss and Cameron Archer all in fine form as Boro surged towards the play-off places under Carrick, Hoppe frequently found himself on the sidelines, and he would feature just four more times from the bench before being loaned out to Scottish Premiership side Hibernian in January 2023.

Hoppe scored one goal and provided two assists in nine games during his loan spell at Easter Road, but it was not enough to force his way into Carrick's plans, and he made another temporary move in August 2023 as he joined MLS side San Jose Earthquakes.

The striker netted twice in eight games for San Jose Earthquakes, but they decided against taking up their option to sign him permanently, leaving him an incredibly difficult situation when he returned to the Riverside Stadium last December.

With little chance of Hoppe breaking into the Boro team, he spent the next 12 months sitting in the stands, and over two years after his last appearance for the club, his contract was terminated in January, with Carrick admitting that "it didn't quite work for him here as he would have hoped".

That is something of an understatement from Carrick, and while Scott has done some excellent work in the transfer market, the signing of Hoppe will forever remain a black mark on his record, and it will be remembered as one of Boro's worst ever deals.