Their 100 per cent start to the Championship campaign under Rob Edwards is only part of the reason why the Middlesbrough faithful are counting down the minutes until the resumption of the club season.
What is more frustrating? Going into an international break on a high, just when you are keen to maintain that momentum, or off the back of a particularly bad result?
The answer to that question is up for debate. But one thing is for sure, the Middlesbrough fans would much rather be top of the Championship table with four wins out of four than, say, where Ruben Selles’ Sheffield United find themselves right now.
Tommy Conway’s winner last time out at the Riverside kept Boro’s 100 per cent record going while leaving the Blades in search of a first point, let alone a win.
David Strelec’s first challenge at Middlesbrough, then, is to overtake Conway in Edwards’ pecking order. Easier said than done, maybe, after Conway scored in each of his last two matches.
But if his electrifying performance during Slovakia’s 2-0 victory over Germany on Thursday night is anything to go by, it won’t be long before Strelec provides a hefty return on Boro’s £6.5 million investment.
The prospect of watching a striker who ran rings around Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger and Bayern Munich’s Jonathan Tah might have some on the banks of the Tees pitching up outside the Riverside like teenage girls outside a Taylor Swift concert, desperate to get a glimpse of a superstar up close.
David Strelec scores past Antonio Rudiger's Germany for Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier
Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images
Slovakian press label Middlesbrough striker David Strelec ‘world-class’ after Germany heroics
It’s fair to say David Strelec has the Middlesbrough supporters rather excited for an otherwise unglamorous trip to Preston North End on September 13th.
The former Slovan Bratislava talisman put pen to paper on a five-year deal just weeks after Strelec’s father confirmed Middlesbrough’s long-standing interest.
Slovakian football journalist Lukas Vrablik, speaking to the BBC, explains that David Strelec is ‘a technical player with some clever movement and very good in combinations in counter-attacks’.
That ‘clever movement’ was in evidence as Strelec darted off Rudiger and pulled the ball back for Atletico Madrid defender David Hancko to open the scoring against Germany.
Bamboozling the former Chelsea colossus again on the other side of half-time, Strelec then curled a stunning finish past a despairing Oliver Baumann.
Say what you want about his velvet first-touch and his intelligent link-play, those devastating finishes are what Middlesbrough paid £6.5 million for.
“His goal was sensational,” Slovakian publication Sportnet write in their gushing, glowing assessment of a ‘world-class’ centre-forward performance.
“He completely outclassed the giant Antonio Rudiger, the famous Real Madrid defender, with his movement, and he finished it precisely into the corner of the goal.
Middlesbrough badge - Middlesbrough v Luton Town - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Strelec looked ‘worth £50m’ as he outclasses Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger
Not only that, Strelec endeared himself to the Boro faithful even more as he, to quote Sportnet, ‘completely overshadowed’ Newcastle United’s new £69 million frontman Nick Woltemade at the other end of the pitch.
Had this performance come a little earlier, or if the transfer window had closed a couple of weeks later, Sportnet wonder if Middlesbrough would have missed their chance.
“Slovan may regret that the transfer window didn’t close a week later,” they add. “Today, a Premier League club would probably offer twice that much for him.
“He looked like he was worth £50 million!”
Antonio Rudiger during Athletic Club v Real Madrid CF - La Liga EA Sports
Photo by Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
Strelec has now scored 35 goals for club and country since the start of 2024/25.
“I’m glad I did [netted the winner],” an understandably self-confident Strelec beamed.
If Rudiger and Tah do not scare the Middlesbrough newbie, by the way, don’t expect Southampton, Ipswich or Leicester to strike fear into him.
“I don’t care if someone is a world champion or if they won the Champions League. It’s still a one-on-one match.
“I think the match went well for me, but especially for the whole team. We not only matched our opponent, we were even a little better because we had more chances.
“It was an excellent match for us. I admit that I was surprised that we had so many opportunities.”