Newcastle United signed Bazoumana Toure for £43 million this week
12:00, 10 Jul 2026
Bazoumana Toure playing for the Ivory Coast
Bazoumana Toure was part of Ivory Coast's World Cup squad(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Newcastle United’s new star man is someone very familiar to Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg.
This week Newcastle splashed £43 million to bring Bazoumana Toure to St James’ Park from German side Hoffenheim. The 20-year-old winger is expected to be Barcelona-bound Anthony Gordon’s replacement.
While that might ordinarily have little interest to Boro whatsoever, in fact, the role that Boro boss Hellberg played in creating the Ivorian star has extremely positive implications for the future on Teesside under the Swede’s guidance.
Toure was just 18 when he joined Hammarby in 2024 from the esteemed Ivorian academy that produced both Toure - Yaya and Kolo - among many others.
But he was still a raw kid when he arrived in Stockholm to be guided by the now-Boro boss. As Swedish journalist and expert Ola Wenstrom point out, Hellberg’s impact in his development was massive.
He told our sister site Chronicle Live: “From the first glimpses you could see there was something different about him. His pace, his ability to beat defenders one-on-one and his confidence on the ball stood out immediately.
“Defenders simply struggled to live with him in open space. At the same time, he still had room to improve his decision-making in the final third, his consistency from game to game and his defensive work.
"Like many young wingers, he relied heavily on instinct. The next step was becoming a more complete footballer. Kim Hellberg was very important.
“He deserves a lot of credit. He trusted Touré from day one but also demanded more than just moments of brilliance. I saw and heard some training sessions from the sideline.
“He challenged him tactically, especially without the ball, and helped him understand when to dribble, when to combine and how to influence games over 90 minutes. That balance between freedom and structure accelerated his development."
While Hellberg’s work with Toure won’t on anyway help Boro, it’s certainly something that gives positive indications for Boro, if the Swede can replicate such nurturing of future talent on Teesside too.
Whether it be to help young players from the academy making the transition to the first-team, or helping new signings - the ones signed with room for growth in mind in particular, Hellberg has a clear track record of coaching individuals and making them better, along with his coaching staff.
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While Boro will be hoping to secure some marquee signings this summer to aid their promotion push, there will inevitably be some ‘project’ signings too - players like first signing Myles Peart-Harris, who the club see potential in and want to offer him an opportunity to prove it.
If Hellberg can replicate his coaching success in Sweden to here in the Championship, Boro will certainly be on to a winner.
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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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