Middlesbrough told to consider contract talks for £3m man on one condition | OneFootball

Forss has been a bit-part player this season for Boro, but could he still have a big future on Teesside?

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 strengthened their attacking unit considerably in the January transfer window amid Emmanuel Latte Lath's, with no fewer than three new forwards joining Michael Carrick's squad.

Samuel Iling Jr, Kelechi Iheanacho and marquee purchase Morgan Whittaker were added to the plethora of talent already at the Riverside Stadium, which includes Tommy Conway, Ben Doak and Finn Azaz.

One player who has had to settle for a peripheral role in recent times though is Marcus Forss, who perhaps more was expected from when he joined Boro in 2022 from Brentford in a £3 million deal.

Marcus Forss tipped for surprise Middlesbrough stay beyond summer 2025 transfer window

A scorer of 10 goals in his debut season on Teesside, 21-cap Finland international Forss found himself a home on the right-hand side of Michael Carrick's attacking unit, which was a prolific one at the time including Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer.

Injury issues though would blight Forss' second season, although he did find the back of the net seven times in just 21 league outings in 2022-23 - a respectable one in three record given the troubles he had.

The arrival of Ben Doak from Liverpool on loan last summer though was to impact Forss greatly in terms of his minutes - the right-wing position was soon to be the Scotsman's, but once again the flying Finn's injuries have impacted his development this season.

With just 20 Championship appearances to his name this season, mostly from the bench, and with a contract that expires in 2026, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it would be best for all parties this summer if Boro try and get some cash for the 25-year-old - FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit Jasper Hudson believes that Forss still has a role to play at the club though, and would even offer an extension out, but only if he accepts to be an impact player.

"Marcus Forss is another player whose time at Boro has been hampered by injuries," Jasper told FLW.

"Especially this season with Ben Doak coming in there was no way he was going to compete with Doak to start, so he has been restricted to substitute appearances.

"Obviously he was our only (permanent) right-winger before we signed Morgan Whittaker, before that we had Isaiah Jones but he's left.

"So, I wouldn't be opposed to giving Forss a new contract. He's an alright player for the Championship, a fairly solid back-up option, but I don't think he'd be anything more than that, so I think the contract would have to reflect he's a back-up player.

"Thinking back to his first season with Carrick, he was really good in that attack off the right-wing, so it would be nice if we could keep hold of him, and maybe he could get back to that form.

"But because of injuries, I just think he's going to be nothing more than a back-up for us, if we do offer him a new contract, or if he's willing to accept a contract knowing that's what he'll be."

Marcus Forss may be good enough to spread his wings and depart Middlesbrough for first-team football

Ever since coming through at Brentford, Forss has been able to score goals, with a loan stint at AFC Wimbledon in 2019-20 fully proving that for the first time.

The problem now though is that Forss isn't getting many starts for Middlesbrough, when he could potentially go elsewhere - whether that's in the Championship or another European league - and be starting week in, week out.

There must surely be a consideration from the player himself that with just over a year remaining on his contract, and also thinking about his Finland international career as well, that he may now need to spread his wings and move on to pastures new.