Middlesbrough backed to offload 26-year-old - "I feel sorry for him" | OneFootball

Fitness issues have plagued the 26-year-old for most of his Boro tenure.

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...

Alex Bangura's time with Middlesbrough could be coming to an end after a telling start to the season.

You have to go back to the highlights of the club's 3-1 home win over Watford on 4th May 2024 to see Bangura in a red shirt; he actually scored that day, too.

A hamstring injury that he picked up in pre-season against Bradford City has bashed any hopes of the former Sierra Leone international making an impact on Rob Edwards' selection thoughts in the early stages of his tenure as Boro's boss.

A sad Bangura limped off the pitch after just 11 minutes that day and was consoled by Edwards. The diagnosis: another month on the sidelines.

Middlesbrough told to seek out Alex Bangura deal, if possible

If all has gone to plan so far, it shouldn't be all that long before Bangura is fit again. When the 26-year-old does return to action, he's going to be at the bottom of a three-man depth chart at left-back, leaving him with little chance of getting back to regular football.

One of Football League World's Boro fan pundits, Liam Day, feels for what the defender has gone through over the last couple of years. He doesn't see Bangura, who has just less than two years to go on his deal with the club, becoming more of a key component at the Riverside, and would like to see another club make a temporary move for him.

Day said: "If there's a club willing to take a punt on him, I think it's something Boro should look to do really.

"He needs game time. He needs consistent game time if we do some another left wing-back, which I think is probably quite likely. He is going to find that [minutes] very hard to come by realistically at Boro.

"I think he's got potential. In the past when he has played, his pace, he has looked really impressive at times, but he just can't get in [the team].

"It's really tough to see, but the only time I see him getting game time is at a different club, whether you can sell him or send him out on loan. I think it's worth doing.

"Hopefully he gets some game time, increases his value, improves, and you can either look at him again next summer or cash in on him, get a bit more money to spend. I don't know.

"I feel sorry for him, but he does need game time, so it's probably something Boro should look to do, loan him out."

Middlesbrough have to try and facilitate a move for Alex Bangura when he is fit

Not all transfers work in football, and Bangura's to Boro can, so far, be put into that category. After arriving from Dutch club SC Cambuur, the left-back struggled to get up to speed with the Championship.

To think of all the injury issues he has had since moving to England, it must be so tough for a player who was used to taking to the field regularly for his old club, being sideline-bound for so long. Even when he is fit, the bench or the stands will be his likely spot with Boro.