Middlesbrough sent three youth players out on loan last week
10:53, 30 Mar 2026
Shea Connor
Shea Connor of Middlesbrough
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot shared his Middlesbrough gratitude as young prospects Shea Connor and Rio Patterson-Powell joined Gateshead on loan.
Elliot has been leading a spirited Gateshead revival in recent weeks, with National League relegation fears eased after picking up 24 points from their last 12 games, having previously been bottom.
With five games remaining, Boro have loaned the academy duo to the Tyneside club as part of a recent exodus of academy players seeking senior first-team experience before the end of the season.
Connor and Patterson-Powell’s loans were announced on the same day that centre-back Archie Baptiste joined National League leaders Rochdale. Earlier in the month, midfielder Brayden Johnson joined Kidderminster, while Sonny Finch made his loan move to South Shields a permanent one.
Elliot, a former Newcastle goalkeeper now in charge of the Heed, is delighted to be signing goalkeeper Connor, who’s spent plenty of time with Boro’s first-team in recent years, and versatile right-sided Patterson-Powell, who made the first-team bench earlier this season under Rob Edwards.
Elliot said: “We are happy with the business and we are grateful to Middlesbrough for trusting us with two of their young players. Shea was superb in training on Friday and he wasn’t involved today just because we went without a goalkeeper on the bench.
“Pete (Jameson) has a bit of an injury so we needed another keeper and we are delighted to have Shea with us. We just felt we wanted to cover as many outfield positions as possible and Rio just had a little knock but he will be with us on Wednesday.
“If that hadn’t happened he would have been in and around the squad today. He’s a really exciting prospect, a really good player, he’s a good right wing-back, he gets up and down and he backs his own ability.
“We are looking forward to working with them. We’ve had some injuries so we are going to need these two lads.”
Baptiste, meanwhile, who joined Boro from Tottenham last summer and made his first-team debut in Kim Hellberg’s first match in charge against Derby County, moves to the opposite end of the National League.
He joins Rochdale as they sit top of the table, three points ahead of York City, with only one side earning automatic promotion to League Two. Their boss, Jimmy McNulty, was equally grateful to Boro, as he discussed Baptiste’s arrival alongside the capture of John-Kymani Gordon from Colchester.
McNulty said: “We’re delighted to sign them both - two quality players. Archie is earlier in his football journey and we’re grateful to Middlesbrough for letting us have him.
“He’s a brilliant young calibre defender who can operate across the back three. That was an area we needed help in, so we’re delighted to have him.”
Baptiste went straight into the Rochdale squad for Saturday’s victory over Sutton United, though he was unused from the bench having only joined the club on Friday.
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