Middlesbrough may have £1.5m Rav van den Berg replacement - Aston Villa, Man City & Southampton wanted him | OneFootball

Boro's Dutch defender is the subject of Premier League transfer interest this summer, but his replacement may already be at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough defender Rav van den Berg is the subject of significant Premier League transfer interest this summer, and Boro may already have his replacement in-house.

Boro's transfer business looks set to ramp up over the coming weeks, in what has already been a summer of change on Teesside.

Michael Carrick is out, and Rob Edwards is in, and one of his first points of order as Middlesbrough head coach will be to identify where, how and who can improve his playing squad in the market.

The Teessiders already have a sizeable crop of first-team players on their books, with numerous loanees returning to the Riverside on top of last season's group.

As such, in order to make room for any new additions, some fringe options or highly saleable assets may need to be moved on in order to allow Edwards to stamp his authority on the squad for his debut season in charge.

Rav van den Berg appears to be a strong contender for a move away from Middlesbrough this summer

One of those who may be sold this window is Middlesbrough's highly-rated young defender, Rav van den Berg.

The 21-year-old was signed by Boro from Dutch side PEC Zwolle in the summer of 2023, with the Teessiders beating the likes of Dortmund, AC Milan, Juventus and Ajax to his signature at the time.

A Netherlands youth international, the central defender enjoyed a superb debut season at the Riverside in 23/24, with it quickly becoming evident to Boro supporters that their club had secured the services of a very talented young player, who has all the tools to develop into a top-class centre-back in the future.

He's big, athletic, mature, calm and assured on the ball, strong in the air and can tackle - in short, it swiftly became glaringly obvious why some of Europe's elite clubs were sniffing around him.

So, despite a slightly weaker second season on Teesside last term, it still comes as no real surprise to see the likes of Crystal Palace and Brentford seemingly preparing moves for him this summer.

The Eagles are understood to be lining up a £27m double Boro swoop for Hayden Hackney and Van den Berg, whilst the Bees are said to be plotting a £15m move for the defender.

Boro may already have Van den Berg's successor in place at the Riverside: Harley Hunt

It goes without saying that should Van den Berg leave Middlesbrough this summer, he will need replacing.

Given his talent and potential as well as the calibre of clubs seemingly in for him, Boro can expect to receive a very healthy transfer fee for him, and so Edwards may well wish to target an external player as his replacement.

However, the Teessiders may already have his successor in-house: Harley Hunt.

Middlesbrough splashed out on a deal worth up to £1.5m to bring the then-16-year-old central defender to the Riverside from Swindon Town last summer, beating the likes of Southampton, Aston Villa and even Manchester City to his signature.

Comfortable operating in a back three - the system Edwards is expected to deploy with Boro - or four, as well as having the ability to play in midfield thanks to his technical ability on the ball, the now-17-year-old is evidently a youngster that Middlesbrough rate very highly indeed.

Having come through Swindon Town's academy, Hunt was already entrusted to make three League Two appearances as a 16-year-old in 23/24, and has already made his Boro first-team debut in a 5-0 defeat to Stoke City in the Carabao Cup last season.

Other than that appearance, Hunt has largely been playing academy football during his Boro career so far, but he's clearly been impressing during his time with the club and is perhaps ready for a more regular spot in the first-team, as evidenced by words from former head coach Michael Carrick earlier this year.

Speaking in February, Carrick said of Hunt: "Harley’s been out a little while himself actually, he’s had an injury. He’s literally just coming back from injury now. It would be too soon at the moment (to put him into first-team squad) because he’s not fully fit yet.

"But Harley has been around it earlier in the season and had some big involvements. He trained a lot with the group and it’s a natural step for the younger lads if they’re doing well enough to make that step at some point.

"I definitely wouldn’t write him or any of the younger lads off."

Middlesbrough have a long and proud history of nurturing and providing their own academy talents with a pathway to first-team football, and Hunt may well be ready to join that list should Van den Berg take his Teesside leave this summer.