Liverpool 'wonderkid' signs: How Middlesbrough's dream January transfer window looks | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at what a dream January window could look like for Boro.

Middlesbrough may have their best chance yet to end their near decade-long Premier League exile this season, and a strong January transfer window could help propel them back to the top flight.

But, as with anything with Boro, and as their fans will tell you, nothing is straightforward.

Indeed, with Rob Edwards' shocking walkout just months into a three-year contract, if Middlesbrough are to win promotion this season, the head coach chosen to succeed him at the Riverside in Kim Hellberg must be a home run hit.

However, thanks to some excellent work in the summer window, the Smoggies have a playing squad that doesn't appear to have too many glaring holes, and so January looks likely to be a window in which quality over quantity is going to be the focus.

With Middlesbrough's squad currently at a maximum of 25 registered players, with Adilson Malanda also to join from 1 January, we're predicting five incomings and five outgoings at the Riverside this winter.

So, Football League World explores what Middlesbrough's dream January transfer window might look like...

OUT: Alex Gilbert

Having joined Boro from Brentford back in the summer of 2023, Alex Gilbert has endured a frustrating few years on Teesside.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder hasn't been able to carve out a meaningful first-team role at the Riverside, despite some productive and impressive cameos as a substitute, particularly in his debut 23/24 campaign in which he bagged a goal and three assists in just over 200 minutes of Championship football that term.

However, with an abundance of versatile and talented attacking players ahead of him in the depth chart this season, the Irishman is once again out in the Middlesbrough cold.

Therefore, both a loan or a permanent exit appears firmly on the cards for him in January.

IN: Hampus Skoglund, Hammarby

In Callum Brittain, Middlesbrough have made an excellent signing at right-back/right wing-back in the summer window.

However, should the ex-Blackburn man be forced to miss time through injury, then Boro don't have a natural senior option behind him to take his place in the starting XI, and that could be disastrous for the Smoggies.

Therefore, reuniting Hellberg with one of his bright young Hammarby stars in Hampus Skoglund could make a lot of sense for Middlesbrough.

Still only 21, the Swedish youth international made 32 appearances in all competitions for Hammarby last season, providing four assists to boot.

He's a very similar profile of defender to Brittain, as he loves to get forward, is a confident and powerful dribbler and carrier of the ball, and often provides excellent service when in crossing positions.

Skoglund could be a superb developmental signing for Boro, providing Brittain with excellent competition, Boro with much-needed depth on the right flank, and Hellberg with a player he knows and trusts.

IN: Adriano Jagusic, Slaven

If you haven't heard of the name Adriano Jagusic yet, then make a note of it.

This versatile 20-year-old attacking midfielder is taking Croatian football by storm in 2025/26, with seven goals and four assists from just 16 total appearances for Slaven this term.

Capable of operating behind the centre-forward or from out wide, Jagusic possesses a wonderful left foot, which has been the architect behind some brilliant goals during his time at Slaven.

A Croatian youth international, word, if it hasn't already, will be getting out across European football very soon of his exploits in his homeland, and it's surely only a matter of time before he outgrows Croatian football and makes a move to a bigger European league.

He's exactly the sort of profile of player Middlesbrough have been targeting in recent years, in that he's young, talented, potentially available for a non-extortionate fee, and could well bankroll the club with significant profits in a few years down the line.

OUT: Micah Hamilton

Signed for an initial £2m from Manchester City in last year's summer transfer window, Micah Hamilton is yet to blossom into the star that Boro hoped he would become on Teesside.

Another player who was signed under Boro's buy cheap and young before developing and selling high model, the 22-year-old winger was always purchased with the understanding that he was a raw talent, with minimal experience in senior football.

As such, it may well be that although he's yet to make a real impression on the Boro first-team squad, Middlesbrough chiefs aren't panicking just yet.

Contracted until the summer of 2028, Boro surely won't be ready to give up on him yet, and so a loan move away from the club in the winter window seems extremely likely.

OUT: George Edmundson

With the aforementioned Malanda waiting in the wings to arrive as soon as 2025 turns to 2026, January could be an opportune time to move on George Edmundson.

The 28-year-old signed permanently from Ipswich Town in January of this year after initially moving to Boro on loan, but a combination of injury issues and inconsistent performances has seen him fall pretty much down to the bottom of the pecking order in central defence.

The case for keeping him hasn't been helped by the form of Alfie Jones since he signed from Hull in the summer either, as he's been one of the standout performers for the Smoggies so far this season full stop.

Dael Fry is playing his best football of his decade-long Middlesbrough career, whilst Luke Ayling is also enjoying a resurgence operating as a centre-back this term.

Darragh Lenihan is still to return from injury, and with talented youngster George McCormick also banging on the first-team door, Boro look well-stocked in this department.

IN: Shumaira Mhueka, Chelsea

Somewhat inexplicably, given Middlesbrough spent the best part of £10m on David Strelec and Kaly Sene this summer, Boro look in desperate need of a goalscorer in January.

Tommy Conway is enduring the most challenging period in front of goal perhaps in his entire career, and certainly since his move to Middlesbrough in last year's summer window, whilst Strelec and Sene both look like players who need more time to adapt to English football than perhaps first thought.

Experienced and proven Championship goalscorers are extremely hard to get your hands on, especially in January, as those second tier clubs that have them are almost always reluctant to give them away mid-season and to a divisional rival.

So, the next best thing can often be to cast your net to the Premier League for a highly-rated youngster, and given the amount of money spent on their forward line this summer, it's unlikely Boro would be willing to splash out big-money on another centre-forward in January.

Therefore, Chelsea's Shumaira Mhueka could be a gamble very much worth taking for the Teessiders.

The 18-year-old can play as a striker or out wide, and with as good a goal record at youth level of both domestic and international football, the highly-rated teenager - who has already made a handful of first-team appearances at Stamford Bridge - appears to have that unteachable knack for finding the net at any level.

Headers, tap-ins, long-range worldies, left foot, right foot; you name the type of goal, Mhueka can score them, and he's also competitive in the physical aspect of the game too, meaning he shouldn't have any problem handling that side of Championship football.

Don't be fooled by his age and lack of senior experience, and don't be surprised to see this England youth international starring at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League in the next few years.

OUT: Alex Bangura

There isn't a Middlesbrough fan anywhere that doesn't feel sympathetic towards Alex Bangura's situation as a Boro player.

Signed in the summer of 2023, the 26-year-old left-sided player joined off the back of a productive few years in the Netherlands with Cambuur, and with two goals and three assists in 18 games during his debut campaign, evidently has the ability to make an impact at Championship level.

However, he's endured injury hell since the end of that 23/24 campaign, and didn't kick a ball in anger for Boro throughout the entirety of the 24/25 season.

Bangura suffered another injury setback in pre-season, and has now been involved in the matchday squad for a number of weeks as an unused substitute.

But with Matt Targett and Sammy Silvera for company on the left side of defence, the Sierra Leone international is down the pecking order, and so a loan move away in January seems an opportune chance for him to regain his match sharpness, and show Boro what he can do.

OUT: Delano Burgzorg

Delano Burgzorg is a divisive figure among Middlesbrough supporters.

On the one hand, his work rate and commitment for the cause has never been in question, and does have the ability to create a piece of magic with the ball at his feet.

On the other hand, however, those moments of quality have been too few and far between, with the Dutchman's end product too often leaving a lot to be desired.

With Riley McGree back and looking sharp, Morgan Whittaker enjoying his best football in a Boro shirt in recent weeks, and Sontje Hansen looking primed to be a player that evolves into a big player under Hellberg, Burgzorg may be resigned to a backup role at best moving forwards.

And for a player who is reportedly earning £20k per week, as per Capology, and who is yet to show signs of improvement in regards to his goal contributions, decision-making in the final third and his end product, January could be a smart time to move him on and attempt to reclaim a premium fee for him due to the nature of clubs being willing to pay above the odds mid-season.

IN: Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool

Middlesbrough have built themselves an excellent reputation with Premier League clubs in recent years as a trusted destination to send young players for development.

Liverpool saw that first hand with Ben Doak last season, as off the back of a superb loan stint on Teesside, the Reds were able to sell him to Bournemouth in the summer in a deal worth £25m.

So, should Boro come knocking on the door to enquire about taking more of Liverpool's young players in the future, Anfield chiefs will surely be more than happy to do business with the Teessiders.

One player who Middlesbrough should be looking to cash-in some of their credit in the bank with the Reds for is their highly-exciting young winger, Rio Ngumoha.

Despite only being 17, the left-winger has already made a handful of first-team appearances for Liverpool, and was able to thrust his name into the household spotlight with his dramatic winning goal in the 10th minute of added time vs Newcastle United back in August.

But, as ever at Anfield, the England youth international has a lot of world-class competition to contend with for regular minutes, and given his evident superstar potential, the club will want to be careful with him.

However, there doesn't appear to be much harm in securing him a short-term loan move in January to continue banking up his senior football experience, and with Boro crying out for a pacy, direct winger in January, Ngumoha could be a revelation under Hellberg.

There's no harm in asking, and if they do, Liverpool could well see the benefits of sending him to Teesside for the remainder of the season, potentially handing Middlesbrough with a youngster primed to tear up the second tier and help lead them to the Premier League.