Middlesbrough are facing a number of major contract calls between now and the end of the season.
Kim Hellberg’s side are firmly in the mix in the Championship promotion race and are sitting level on points with leaders Coventry City after embarking on a run of five consecutive wins since the turn of the year. The Boro ranks have been boosted by the arrival of Brighton and Hove Albion winger Jeremy Sarmiento, West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith, Aston Villa full-back Finley Munroe and Chelsea attacking midfielder Leo Castledine over the last month and Hellberg’s squad looks well placed for the final push.
There will be decisions to made over the long-term future of loan signings Sarmiento and Wildsmith when the season comes to a close and those decisions may well be subject to the success of Boro’s push for the Premier League. However, there are also major calls to be made over several permanent members of the Boro squad with the likes of Luke Ayling and Dael Fry now in the final months of their current contracts at the Riverside Stadium.
Looking further down the line, six other Boro players are in the final 18 months of their deals and will now be at risk of being picked off by possible suitors over the coming months. One key player who finds himself in that situation is influential midfielder Hayden Hackney and he was the subject of interest from several clubs over recent months. Nottingham Forest were reportedly the first club to step up their interest on deadline day as the Premier League strugglers had an offer rejected for the Boro academy graduate.
Although Hellberg and his players will focus on their attempts to secure a return to the top flight over the coming months, there is no doubt there are some major calls to be made over the long-term futures of several players. With the January transfer window now behind us, we take a look at the contract situation within the Middlesbrough squad based on information from the transfer experts at TransferMarkt.
When do Middlesbrough contracts come to an end?
Luke Ayling.placeholder image
Luke Ayling. | Getty Images
Summer 2026: Luke Ayling, Darragh Lenihan, Alan Browne (loan) Dael Fry, Sam Silvera, Jeremy Sarmiento (loan), Joe Wildsmith (loan), Matt Targett (loan), Morgan Forss*, Dan Barlaser* Summer 2027: Seny Dieng, George Edmundson, Alex Bangura, Hayden Hackney, Alex Gilbert, Neto Borges* Summer 2028: Riley McGree, Aidan Morris, Micah Hamilton, Tommy Conway, Law McCabe, Delano Burgzorg* Summer 2029: Alfie Jones, Callum Brittain, Sontje Hansen, Morgan Whittaker, Kaly Sene Summer 2030: Sol Brynn, David Strelec, Leo Castledine, Finley Munroe, Abdoulaye Kante*
*Currently out on loan
What has Kim Hellberg said about Hayden Hackney’s future at Middlesbrough?
Hayden Hackney.placeholder image
Hayden Hackney. | Mike Hewitt/Getty Images.
Speaking last month, the Boro boss said: "I like him very much and if I could decide I would say ‘not for sale!’ But that will not come down to me. But I think he wants to stay here, you can see him being very, very happy and how he works. So hopefully he’s with us this year and further on. He is very important, of course. He’s a top player and a top person. He is top in every aspect of the game. I think he’s defending good, he’s good offensively, he’s helping his team-mates and I’ve said that before.
“I think his most impressive thing is how he is as a person because he could be easily, like you start thinking about other things when you get those big clubs that are after you. They should be after him, because he’s a top player and I think he would be able to play in a lot of Premier League teams and do well, because that’s how good he is. That’s how good he is as a person and how good he is as a player. But he’s been just staying so focused on everything, just helping everyone. It doesn’t matter, he helps absolutely everyone. Even if some of the players haven’t played, he helps them, he tries to coach them, he’s actually unbelievable.
“It’s that I’m most impressed with because you can see him on the pitch and you just look at him and say, ‘Wow, that’s an absolutely top player.’ But to combine that by being that type of team person, team player, and human being, I think that is unbelievable.”
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