"I don’t think he disgraced himself” – Middlesbrough told to seal "no-brainer" Luton Town deal | OneFootball

Middlesbrough are reportedly interested in reuniting new manager Rob Edwards with former Luton Town boss Alfie Doughty.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough missed out on the top six and the play-off places once again last season, but they have moved into a new era now as they seek to sustain a promotion challenge next year.

Boro have parted company with Michael Carrick after two and a half years in charge at the Riverside, and he has been replaced by former Luton Town boss Rob Edwards.

Following the appointment of Edwards, there are now links suggesting that ‘Boro are interested in signing Luton wing-back Alfie Doughty, who thrived under the management of Edwards.

Middlesbrough should go for Alfie Doughty

Doughty rose to prominence at Luton under Edwards as they gained promotion from the Championship and into the top-flight via the play-offs in the 2022/23 campaign.

The Hatters were relegated on the final day of the 2023/24 season, but Doughty impressed throughout and would likely widely be viewed as a bit of a coup by neutrals should ‘Boro bring him back up to the second-tier.

That view is shared by FLW’s Middlesbrough fan Pundit Phil Auton, who believes that Doughty would be a good signing by Middlesbrough, and believes they have the resources to make it happen.

Phil says: “I think it would be an ideal fit. I don’t think he disgraced himself in the Premier League by any stretch.

“He’s a good player. Up and down. Seems really hard-working and seems like a really good character as well.

“I think it would be a no-brainer to take advantage of that connection [with Rob Edwards] and also, the fact that Luton are now in League One.

“I think we’ve got a decent amount of money to spend for our standards with player sales from over the years recently. Particularly [Emmanuel] Latte Lath in January, we’ve not really touched any of that.

“I’d like to think a reasonable offer would be enough to get him and I’d like to think that there would be a desire to link back up with him [Edwards] again. I think he’d be a really good addition, to be honest.”

Rob Edwards to change things at Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough have been left frustrated in each of the last two seasons, narrowly missing out on the top six and the play-off places with Carrick at the helm.

Carrick had enjoyed an excellent opening eight or so months upon Teesside, but they couldn’t build on the second-half of the 2022/23 campaign, where they had managed to propel themselves to a fourth place finish before defeat to Coventry City in the play-offs.

With Edwards in charge, ‘Boro will look to his flexible style, having gained promotion with two clubs using two different methods of play; free-flowing and dynamic football at Forest Green Rovers in League Two before a more reactive and agricultural style at Luton in the Championship.