Why Rav van den Berg wasn't involved in Middlesbrough FC's final pre-season friendly | OneFootball

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Riverside.

Middlesbrough are gearing up for their first campaign with Rob Edwards at the helm.

The North East outfit parted ways with Michael Carrick after failing to finish in the play-offs last term, choosing to appoint the man who got Luton Town promoted in 2023 to achieve that task.

Boro have added Abdoulaye Kanté and Alfie Jones to their ranks this summer, but have been more concerned with potential outgoings in recent times.

Hayden Hackney has been the subject of extensive interest from Ipswich Town, with it revealed by Scott Wilson via X that he has turned down the opportunity to move to Portman Road, and now there has been a further development to Rav van den Berg’s situation.

Rav van den Berg update amid Middlesbrough exit rumours

Van den Berg has recently been linked with Feyenoord as per VI, with it revealed that the Dutch outfit had made contact with Boro about signing the defender.

Brentford have also shown an interest in adding the 21-year-old to their ranks, according to Alan Nixon, which would see him reunite with brother Sepp at the Gtech Community Stadium.

BBC senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel has now revealed via X that the defender wasn’t in the squad for Boro’s pre-season clash against Deportivo today due to ongoing transfer negotiations.

Feyenoord and an unnamed Bundesliga club - believed to be Koln - were suggested as the two sides that are talking to Van den Berg, who joined Middlesbrough in the summer of 2023 from Dutch side PEC Zwolle.

Three teams from Germany were linked to the young defender by Sky Sports, in the form of Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg.

The Dutchman has been a popular target this summer, with Premier League side Crystal Palace also believed to be keen on acquiring his services, according to the Sun.

Middlesbrough will want to conclude Rav van den Berg situation ASAP

With the 2025/26 campaign rapidly approaching, Edwards and Co. won’t want any distractions affecting the squad’s performance during the early stages of the season.

Having players who don’t have their head in the game and heart at the club can be catastrophic on the pitch, which is why Boro will be keen to offload Van den Berg as quickly as possible, if that is indeed the case.

It seems inevitable that the 21-year-old will progress from the second-tier sooner rather than later, so it wouldn’t make sense for the North East outfit to delay negotiations any longer than necessary.

It would also give Middlesbrough the opportunity to reinvest the money from the Dutchman’s sale into other areas of their squad.