Middlesbrough's chances of reaching summer transfer agreement for Aston Villa starlet debated | OneFootball

FLW's Boro fan pundit has been speaking on whether the club should pursue a summer deal for Villa loanee Samuel Iling-Junior.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough's Samuel Iling-Junior took a little bit of time to warm up on Teesside following his winter loan move from Aston Villa, but now the former Juventus man is showing his quality.

The versatile 21-year-old left-sided player brought some serious pedigree with him to the Riverside Stadium, having spent the last two-and-a-half-years playing Serie A football for both Juventus and Bologna respectively.

Purchased by Villa for an initial £11.8m with a further £2.5m in potential add-ons last summer, the England youth international is evidently a talent that is held in high regard at Villa Park.

Having endured a testing opening few games for Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough side since his February arrival, the left-back registered two assists against Oxford United, before following that up with a goal in Boro's 2-0 win over Blackburn on Friday night.

We asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Jasper Hudson: 'Samuel Iling-Junior had impressive showings at left-back against Oxford and Blackburn despite being more of a winger/wing-back at other clubs. Do you think Boro should be looking into signing him permanently in the summer if they can? If so, what would be a fair price in your eyes?'

Hudson said: "With Iling-Junior, he wasn't able to settle in right away. It took him a few games to get going.

"He's stepped it up recently. You can see why he's being playing at Bologna and scored in the Champions League. He does have a ton of quality, and he's doing a great job for us playing out of position.

"Realistically, there's very little chance that we can sign him. He's a player that's too good for us if we stay in the Championship. If we go up, that's a different question, but I still think it would only be another loan, maybe with an option to buy.

"I don't really see how he will be a full-time Boro player, unless something dramatic happens for either us or Villa. But say we went up, and we could do a deal, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

"It is hard to judge him because he's never really been played in his best position, and hasn't performed as such as a left-winger to the level that he has as a left wing-back for us.

"So, I think it's unlikely that a deal will be done, or that we'd be in a position to even attempt a deal."

Middlesbrough and Aston Villa have been forming quite the transfer bond over the last few years.

Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey, Finn Azaz and Iling-Junior have all made the switch from Villa Park to the Riverside Stadium since the 2022/23 season, with Archer and Ramsey both landing Villa big paydays following their loan stints on Teesside.

Then it was Middlesbrough's turn to line their pockets, as the Villans splashed out on a deal for Morgan Rogers in the winter window of 2024, in a move that has banked Boro up to £16m.

Iling-Junior is the latest young talent to be entrusted into the care of the Teessiders by the West Midlands outfit, and they will no doubt be extremely pleased to see the progress he's now making under Carrick.

Therefore, even if a permanent deal can't be struck in the summer, then this latest Middlesbrough-Aston Villa transfer success story will surely only bode Boro well for further fruitful deals in the future.