Middlesbrough appear to be planning an upgrade on Sol Brynn
Eric Paylor
11:08, 30 Jul 2026
Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg
Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg(Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)
Middlesbrough's apparent interest in a raft of goalkeepers means we could have no Teesside-born players starting the new campaign in the first team.
Boro appear to be ambitious in their plans for the new season, and that looks like meaning being ruthless with Sol Brynn and the goalkeeper position.
Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek, former loanee Mark Travers and Ipswich Town's Kayne van Oevelen are all options being explored by Boro right now.
While they would all be brought in as competition for Teessider Brynn, most people would expect them to win the battle for the first team spot.
Vitek was on loan at Bristol City last season and by all accounts was among the top shot-stoppers in the Championship. Travers proved his ability during his half-season spell at Boro, while van Oevelen was highly-rated in the Netherlands before his switch to Ipswich this summer.
As fans, we want to see the strongest possible Boro team on the pitch to give the team every chance of winning promotion. But it would be strange to see Boro without a single Teessider, following the departures of Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney.
Even before Vitek’s name was mentioned, Brynn was already facing arguably his biggest challenge since he was promoted into the goalkeeping hot seat.
It comes from Seny Dieng, who by all accounts has knuckled down in training and is preparing to put up a stiff challenge to regain a senior spot.
Certainly, Kim Hellberg is delighted with the way in which Dieng has been working. That’s why he was given 45 minutes of the action at Celtic and 60 against Huddersfield.
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We need competition for places in all positions. If any goalkeeper comes in then this will leave Boro with solid keepers all contesting the No.1 shirt.
All in all, it shows how difficult it is for home-grown players to break through and stay there on a regular basis. The Boro Academy does a great job. You only have to look at the success of the Under-21 side and some of the younger teams.
The difficulties in taking that final step show what a massive step-up it is to the Championship. The best that a head coach can often do is to give young players pitch time in the later stages and see how they fare.
That’s why it was great to see Jack Daley start at Celtic. He will surely be worth another chance if the seemingly annual defensive injury list returns.
Other local lads desperate for more opportunities include the likes of George McCormick, Law McCabe, Cruz Ibeh and Fin Cartwright. Hopefully they will be able to cross the next hurdle and become permanent members of the squad. But it’s a tough old world at senior level.
Middlesbrough are preparing for a big summer as they look to rebuild from the heartarche of missing out on promotion to the Premier League.
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