Five players Middlesbrough must sell if they ever want to win promotion to the Premier League

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It looks as though Middlesbrough are once again going to fall short in their quest for Championship promotion under Michael Carrick.

Middlesbrough have been stuck in the Championship since their ill-fated 2016/17 campaign.

Boro spent £50m in the transfer market after being relegated, which was a huge sum at the time.

However, they failed to go straight back up and have been languishing in the second tier for eight years now.

Michael Carrick helped the Teessiders finish fourth in his debut season, but failed to reach the play-off final.

Boro then ended 2023/24 in seventh place, and after another disastrous result over the weekend, Middlesbrough are predicted to finish seventh in the current season, missing out on the top-six yet again.

Even if they do make the play-offs, however, fans think promotion won’t happen for Boro.

With this in mind, we have taken a look at five players Middlesbrough should sell in order to rebuild their squad and actually mount a proper promotion push.

• READ MORE: Transfer talks planned as Middlesbrough fans and talkSPORT pundit agree on first summer signing

Seny Dieng

One area that will need to be addressed this summer is Boro’s goalkeeper department.

Middlesbrough could sign Mark Travers permanently after he’s excelled following a loan from AFC Bournemouth.

Sol Brynn will be excellent competition for the Cherries ace once he returns from injury, but it doesn’t make sense to keep Seny Dieng at the club.

The former QPR man was Boro’s number one prior to his own injury problem, but, barring a couple of solid displays, has been woeful.

Dan Barlaser

One of Middlesbrough’s primary problems this season has been a lack of quality squad depth to cover for the consistent injury woes.

Dan Barlaser arrived on Teesside in 2023 and has since acted as a rotation option in the centre of midfield.

But the fact remains, if Middlesbrough want to be in contention for a Premier League return, they need to be signing players of a higher caliber to fill out their squad.

• READ MORE: Middlesbrough fans send summer transfer demand to Steve Gibson, they want ‘class’ player signed

Alex Bangura

Alex Bangura has had a torrid time since his transfer to the Riverside Stadium in the summer of 2023.

He showed signs of promise, but his constant injuries have limited the full-back to just 18 appearances in nearly two seasons.

It’s an unfortunate situation for Bangura, but it is clear that while Middlesbrough do still need better quality at left-back, the 25-year-old isn’t the answer.

George Edmundson

Part of the reason Boro have fallen away in the race for promotion this season has been their centre-back problems.

Dael Fry and Rav van den Berg have been sidelined a fair bit, and the cover behind them since Matt Clarke’s winter move to Derby County has been poor.

George Edmundson secured a permanent transfer to Middlesbrough in January, but that deal is already looking like a mistake.

He’s done little to prove he is a top-quality Championship defender and will need to be upgraded in the coming months, especially if Van den Berg leaves Middlesbrough.

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Luke Ayling

Luke Ayling had a prolific loan stint with Middlesbrough in the second half of 2023/24, so it’s easy to see why his signing was made permanent in 2024.

The 33-year-old has shown patches of quality, but it’s obvious his legs have gone, and he can no longer compete at the level required to be challenging for Premier League promotion.

Boro are short of right-back options anyway but they are going to have to spend well and replace a lot of players if they want to build a squad, not just an eleven, that is capable of reaching the top tier.