Middlesbrough's £1m transfer agreement with Bristol City proved shrewd: View | OneFootball

Albert Adomah was one of the key players who helped Middlesbrough to achieve promotion to the Premier League back in 2016.

Boro had been in the Championship since their relegation from the top flight in 2009, failing to make the play-offs up until Adomah’s arrival.

The Riverside outfit had been eager to see Premier League football return once again to Teesside, and under the guidance of Spanish manager Aitor Karanka, it did.

Many will remember the Spanish revolution Karanka had at Boro, bringing over players from his country to help them out in the top flight.

But none of that may have ever happened if it were not for the heroics of the team that got them up in the first place - including Adomah.

Albert Adomah starred for Middlesbrough but almost left on bad terms

Adomah had made his name in the English leagues initially with Barnet in League Two, before moving to the Championship with Bristol City in 2010.

He would spend three seasons at Ashton Gate but would want to leave after the Robins were relegated to League One in 2013, which led to him joining Boro for a reported fee of £1 million.

Karanka was appointed as Boro manager in November 2013, in what was his first managerial job having previously been assistant to Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

This appointment would be key for Adomah at Boro.

In his first season with the club, Adomah would have his best goal-scoring season to date, scoring 12 goals in 42 league games as Boro finished in 12th position.

This campaign also included a nomination for the Championship Player of the Month in October, after he scored five goals in four games across the month.

In his second season, he would only score half as many as he did the season before.

However, Boro did much better as they reached the Championship play-off final after finishing in fourth place, but they lost out on promotion to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium, losing 2-0 in the play-off final.

After an impressive two seasons already, a surprising turn of events occurred.

In late August of 2015, Adomah handed in a formal transfer request after falling out with Karanka, supposedly because he did not start in a match against his former side Bristol City. Ultimately, he would stay put, with it being too late in the window to secure a move.

Albert Adomah a key player in Middlesbrough’s promotion

The Ghanaian staying put ended up being the best for all parties at the time, as Boro went on to finish second, getting promoted back to the Premier League and putting their play-off heartbreak behind them.

In his first game back after the transfer request debacle, he scored in a 3-1 win over Brentford, with his celebrations masking the ongoing concerns over his long-term future with the club.

This was a benefit, as Adomah would be a key player in Karanks’s 4-2-3-1 system, which improved him as a player.

His intense coaching style helped turn Adomah from a winger who was inconsistent to a player who was all-attack, transforming into a technically proficient player.

Adomah would leave for Aston Villa after being promoted, returning to the Championship almost instantly after rejecting a new contract at Boro.

Adomah nearly re-joined Boro in the summer of 2018 on Deadline Day, only for his move to fall through as they could not agree on personal terms for a permanent move, having agreed a deal with Adomah’s club at the time, Aston Villa.

Unfortunately, Adomah was unable to return to the club where he arguably had the best spell of his career.

Adomah was a key part of Karanka’s team and was undoubtedly a bargain for £1 million, given how much he contributed to the club.