Middlesbrough should already be eyeing ambitious Kim Hellberg transfer reunion - Juventus were linked | OneFootball

With Hellberg set to take over as Boro's new head coach, the Teessiders must attempt an ambitious transfer raid for Hammarby's prized gem.

Kim Hellberg is set to become Middlesbrough's new head coach, and with that, comes a potential opportunity to reunite him with Hammarby's prized 'wonderkid' that the Teessiders must at least attempt.

There is change on the swirling winter winds sweeping across Teesside.

With the wounds of Rob Edwards' shock walkout still fresh for everyone connected with Middlesbrough Football Club, Boro are now seemingly ready to march defiantly into the future with Hellberg in the Riverside dugout.

Indeed, the 37-year-old has seemingly snubbed the opportunity to take over at Swansea City in favour of the Middlesbrough job, and is expected to be announced as Boro's new head coach imminently.

Middlesbrough must explore possibility of Kim Hellberg transfer reunion with Hammarby starlet Adrian Lahdo

With any new managerial appointment who has coached at another club(s) previously, it's not uncommon for said coach's new club to go transfer raiding for talent that may wish to come and reunite with them.

Middlesbrough may well look to do just that with Hellberg and his previous club Hammarby, and if they do, there's sure to be one gem in particular that will catch their eye: Adrian Lahdo.

At just 17, Lahdo is one of the brightest young talents in Swedish football at this moment in time, and having made his competitive debut for Hammarby in October 2024 under Hellberg, has only continued to improve and grow under Boro's soon-to-be head coach.

Having joined Hammarby at age five, Lahdo has the club running through his veins, with his father being a lifelong supporter of the club, and his two brothers also play(ed) for the Stockholm-based side, with his older brother Mayckel now with French outfit Nantes.

Lahdo originally came through as a defensive midfielder, he's since evolved into a versatile attacking midfielder in 2025, one who is comfortable operating through the middle or out wide.

In total, he would make 15 first-team appearances in Hellberg's side in the 2025 season that finished in early November, scoring three goals and providing a further three assists in all competitions.

As per FotMob, Lahdo registered 0.68 assists per 90 minutes in the Allsvenskan (Swedish top flight) in 2025, whilst also recording an 88.5 percent passing accuracy, creating 2.95 chances per 90 minutes - the highest of any player in his position in the league - and was amongst the highest scorers in numerous defensive metrics too, including 9.29 duels won per 90 and a 70 percent aerial duel win rate.

Hammarby then will be relieved they inked him to a long-term contract in the summer of last year, with him now under contract at the club until the summer of 2027.

That new deal came off the back of interest arriving for him from some of Europe's elite clubs, including Dutch giants Feyenoord and Italian heavyweights Juventus respectively.

Middlesbrough must test Adrian Lahdo transfer waters in January - Boro should remember Rav van den Berg win

So, with Lahdo under contract for a little while longer, and with some of Europe's top clubs evidently admirers of his talent and potential, any successful prizing away of the highly-rated teenager will take some doing from Middlesbrough.

However, that isn't to say they shouldn't at least ask the question and see what kind of response they get, and Boro do have a number of reasons to be confident they could pull off a deal for him aside from the obvious Hellberg link.

Firstly, Boro have been seen taking a keen interest in more niche European markets in recent times, especially since the arrival of head of football Kieran Scott in 2021.

Andraz Sporar, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Lukas Engel, Alex Bangura, Rav van den Berg, Delano Burgzorg, Neto Borges, David Strelec, Kaly Sene, Sontje Hansen, Abdoulaye Kante: all of these players have arrived from across European football over the last few years, to largely good success.

But, one of those names in particular stands out as a real piece of concrete evidence that Middlesbrough can beat some of world football's top clubs to a transfer target: Van den Berg.

Indeed, the Dutch defender had interest from the likes of Liverpool, Roma, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and AC Milan respectively, but he turned down all of those to sign for Middlesbrough in the summer of 2023.

Now 21, he was one of host of players sold for big profits in the previous summer window just gone, with German side FC Koln purchasing him for €13m.

So, there's no reason to believe they can't and won't do that again with numerous players in the coming windows, especially given their current placing in the Championship with Premier League football next season a real possibility.

Couple that with the fact that Middlesbrough have raised substantial funds through numerous big-money sales in recent times, and the club shouldn't have any problems forking out a significant fee if required to get Lahdo out of Hammarby and through the Riverside doors.

Therefore, given his age, profile and evident talent and possible superstar potential that Lahdo has, Boro must at least explore what any sort of deal might look like, and possibly reunite Hellberg with his shining young Swedish youth international.