Middlesbrough are back on home soil after their week-long stay at the Campus in Portugal for a warm-weather training camp.
A step-up in the preparations for the new campaign which is now just under four weeks away, Michael Carrick’s side were put through their paces in the Algarve heat. Spending a week in each other’s company on and off the field, trips like this are always an ideal opportunity for team bonding.
With Boro getting plenty out of their trip, they also provided plenty of peeks behind the curtain through social media content. We take a look at what we spotted and learned from Boro’s trip.
READ MORE: Michael Carrick on Middlesbrough’s friendly defeat and importance of Portugal training camp
Transfer considerations
Boro’s solid start to the transfer window has seen them add three new players so far – albeit one being Luke Ayling returning after his successful loan spell. The new faces give Carrick’s squad a really balanced look in all areas of the pitch, with little consideration for selling any of their key players.
Boro’s transfer business isn’t believed to be over yet, though this was never expected to be a busy window on the incoming front. Instead, with pre-season reaching the stages of playing games, Boro have decided to take a slight pause in their recruitment drive in order to assess their current options.
While they are still expected to sign at least one more player, with a particular focus on their forward areas, exactly what kind of attacking player they look to sign will depend on the conclusions Carrick and co come to when watching both training and early matches. As such, the trip to Portugal will have been an ideal time where Carrick was no doubt monitoring his options closely with some decisions that could have huge implications on Boro’s season in mind.
As well as attacking options, Boro are also hoping they might be able to reunite with Ryan Giles this summer – though only if Hull come down in the asking price for the left-back. With confidence a deal can be done, Carrick will be assessing his two current left-backs, Alex Bangura and Lukas Engel.
Until Giles arrives, the pair will be set to challenge for the starting spot at left-back next term, but the importance of their battle over the summer would likely increase in significance if Giles did arrive, with that battle then almost certainly becoming the right stay at the club over just starting the season.
Finally on the transfer front, Boro continue to assess their goalkeeper options, with five needing to become three before the transfer window closes. Zach Hemming and Tom Glover shared 45 minutes apiece in Saturday’s friendly defeat to Vitoria SC, with Seny Dieng, Sol Brynn and Jamie Jones also part of the travelling group.
Youth opportunities
The Boro head coach has been keen to offer opportunities to youth players since arriving at the club and that is continuing this summer. Initially only travelling with Law McCabe and Sonny Finch, three more youngsters travelled to Portugal later in the week and enjoyed game time against Vitoria.
They were defenders George McCormick and James Wilson, as well as midfielder Luke Woolston. Wilson is a tall centre-back who made his debut in the final game of last season, while McCormick and Woolston await their senior debuts. Woolston has previously made the bench for the senior side, but McCormich is a new emerging talent this summer having signed a new contract back in May.
Fitness updates
Not every player who travelled to Portugal was fit enough to fully train with the first team. But with the facilities available to them at the Campus, it was ultimately deemed worth taking Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan and Marcus Forss.
Lenihan is believed to be closest to making a return from the injury that kept him out for most of last season. Kieran Scott had previously said he could have been pushed to make a return at the end of last season but, given so little was at stake in the end, it wasn’t worth the risk.
While Boro continue to manage him carefully, which means sometimes he follows a slightly different regime to the rest of the group and he didn’t play against Vitoria, he is expected to play some part in pre-season. Things are a little less certain with Smith and Forss, however, with the pair working hard to get themselves back as soon as possible.
There were boosts on the injury front, however, with Dael Fry, Hayden Hackney, Riley McGree and Josh Coburn playing their first games for a few months and coming through unscathed.
Much to take from defeat
While Boro may have lost in their first game of the summer, there was plenty to take from it for Carrick. At this stage, fitness was the most important thing, with the fact that the Portuguese side were ahead of them as far as their preparations are concerned obviously a factor when Boro lost the game to two late goals.
Despite the result, Boro are said to have played well in the game, particularly in the first half, with Carrick happy with how the runout had gone. Things will take a step up now as they return to Rockliffe to continue training before starting an intense period of five public-facing friendlies in 14 days before starting the season against Swansea City on August 10. There will no doubt be much more to be learned in that time, but the Portugal trip has proven valuable in assessing exactly where they are and what’s still needed before the big kick-off.