Middlesbrough must seriously regret £5m Millwall agreement | OneFootball

Middlesbrough must surely be regretting the £5 million sale of striker Josh Coburn to Millwall last summer.

Middlesbrough are in a strong position as a club and their business this summer has been impressive once again, but there may well now be a growing feeling of regret over the sale of Josh Coburn to Millwall last summer.

Middlesbrough missed out on promotion by losing the play-off final in dramatic fashion to Hull City at Wembley Stadium in May but, with a first full season under the management of Kim Hellberg, they are tipped to challenge for the title this time around.

Competing against the likes of West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in what appears to be an even more stacked second-tier than usual, ‘Boro have assembled an impressive squad.

Some decent money has been spent, with the biggest fee being shelled out on another striker in Will Lankshear, who has moved to the Riverside from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee believed to be in the region of £14 million.

However, even with Lankshear making a good start to life on Teesside, the performances of Coburn at Millwall will leave ‘Boro, both the club’s hierarchy and their supporters, regretting his sale.

Josh Coburn has gone up a level at Millwall

Having come through the academy at Middlesbrough, Josh Coburn initially showed immense promise on loan at Bristol Rovers, hitting double figures for The Gas down in League One.

He had broken through at ‘Boro the previous year and, for a youngster making his way, had made some worthwhile contributions to the first-team, meaning that when he returned, he formed a key part of the first-team picture in the 2023-24 season at Middlesbrough.

Understudy to Emmanuel Latte Lath up-front and with ‘Boro still boasting an impressive attack that also consisted of Morgan Rogers, Samuel Silvera, Sam Greenwood and Marcus Forss; Coburn again contributed reasonably well for a player of his age and experienced as Michael Carrick’s side missed out on the top six and the play-off places on the final day of the campaign.

However, he didn’t get overwhelming support to be the focal point from either the club or fans and he was eventually allowed to move on loan to Millwall in the 2024-25 season.

At The Den, Coburn dealt with some frustrating injury issues but as a facilitator of a striker, with strong build-up play and all-round abilities, in contrast to the more prolific but one-eyed Mihailo Ivanovic, he again contributed reasonably well as Millwall themselves missed out on the top six and the play-off places on the final day.

His performances were such that Millwall, despite a recruitment model in recent years that has sought to bring in many players from abroad, spent big to sign him on a permanent deal, with the striker moving to South London for a fee of £5 million last summer.

Middlesbrough may regret Josh Coburn sale

Injuries again affected Coburn’s overall involvement at Millwall, as they impressively finished third before losing to eventual play-off winners Hull in the semi-finals.

However, his goal scoring stats continued to improve along with his development, notching nine goals in just 26 Championship appearances for Alex Neil’s side.

Still only 23, not turning 24 until mid-way through this season, the 6 ft 3 in attacker has started this season on fire, too, with a brace on the opening day of the season as Millwall defeated Bristol City by two goals to nil at Ashton Gate before another strong showing in Millwall’s 3-0 hammering of Norwich City.

Middlesbrough, in their rush to try and get themselves back into the Premier League, perhaps overlooked the quality that Coburn had at the time and have now given a direct promotion rival a real leg up in their own bid to reach the top-flight.

It is very rare for a striker to immediately come in and bang in double figures from the start of their career in the EFL – especially a striker with the attributes of Coburn, who allows others to shine with his hold up play and industry rather than necessarily being a poacher.

Yet, despite his game being more than poaching, he still managed to score at a reasonable rate for a youngster and some standout performances really should have alerted ‘Boro to the promise and potential that he had, perhaps most notably his all-round performance against Chelsea in the first-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final in the 2023-24 season when Coburn scored the only goal of the game for The Smoggies.

Underrated at the time with ‘Boro seemingly not ready to wait or continue to nurture Coburn to the player he has now become and is becoming, and did suggest he could be, ‘Boro will surely be regretting his sale.

Will Lankshear remains a stellar signing for Middlesbrough

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What will soften the blow somewhat is that the hustle and bustle of Coburn’s play is perhaps matched, or at least emulated, by new signing Will Lankshear, who may well also go on to be more prolific in front of goal.

Lankshear scored ‘Boro’s winner against Wrexham on debut in the first round of the EFL Cup last season before a match-winning brace as they came from behind to defeat Lincoln City on the opening weekend of the Championship season, certainly hitting the ground running at the Riverside.

‘Boro created and missed 62 big chances in the second-tier last season and were notably profligate in their play-off semi-final defeat to Southampton before being reinstated into the final due to ‘spygate’.

Lankshear, who had shown signs of being a smart finisher in a poor Oxford United side that created the second fewest big chances in the division last year, appears to be an answer, if not the answer, to those problems.

However, for a fee almost three times as much as what they sold Coburn for, there can’t help but be a feeling of ‘what if’ they had stuck by their academy graduate and helped him to develop into the player he showed he could be and is now turning out to be at Millwall.