Will Lankshear and Hayden Hackney react to Morgan Whittaker, Middlesbrough exit message | OneFootball

Ex-colleagues of Morgan Whittaker have reacted to his departure from the Riverside Stadium.

Morgan Whittaker’s departure from Middlesbrough was confirmed last night.

The former Plymouth Argyle wideman has departed the Riverside Stadium for a new venture in America, linking up with MLS outfit Colorado Rapids.

The shock development of this saga happened on deadline day, with TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook first reporting that Colorado Rapids were in advanced talks to sign Whittaker, leaving Middlesbrough a matter of hours to source a replacement.

In the end, they managed to, securing the loan signing of Brighton attacker Amario Cozier-Duberry, who dazzled on loan in League One with Bolton Wanderers last season and will be hopeful of doing similar things as he makes the step-up to the Championship.

Now Whittaker’s sale has all gone through, the winger has taken to social media to pen an exit message to the Boro faithful, with many of his former colleagues going to the comments section to voice their good wishes on his next chapter.

Morgan Whittaker’s Middlesbrough exit message

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Morgan Whittaker took to his Instagram account to post about his departure from Middlesbrough, thanking everybody connected at the club for some ‘great moments’ but that he was ready for a ‘new start’ in America.

Whittaker posted: “I would like to offer my special thanks to everyone at Middlesbrough Football Club. To the coach and his staff, my teammates, and of course, to the supporters. We have shared some great moments, and I wish you all success in the future.

“Now it’s time for a new start and a new country. I can’t wait to get started with the Colorado Rapids, who have put their faith in me. I’m really looking forward to building something memorable here in the MLS.

“Thank you for everything.

“Morgan.”

Will Lankshear and Hayden Hackney react to Morgan Whittaker’s exit message

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After penning a heartfelt message to all connected with Middlesbrough, naturally, many of his former colleagues from the Teesside outfit flooded to the comments section to send their well wishes to the winger as he enters the next chapter of his career.

Most notably, those commenting included star striker Will Lankshear, who has made an electric start to this Championship campaign and is on course to be in contention for the golden boot award.

Also commenting was former Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney, now of Everton, who clearly still keeps up to date with all things concerning the club, despite moving on to his latest adventure in the Premier League.

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In the comments, Lankshear commented: “All the best mate.” Followed by a red heart emoji.

Meanwhile, Hackney added: “All best bro.” Accompanied by two red heart emojis.

How Middlesbrough fans have reacted to Morgan Whittaker’s departure

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Middlesbrough fans have taken to social media themselves to voice their thoughts about the departure of Morgan Whittaker.

One supporter, Storrzy, feels that his exit could well come back to bite Boro, while another feels the side will miss one of their more reliable options in the final third.

Meanwhile, Rob has labelled Boro fans celebrating Whittaker's departure as 'clueless', also wondering who will replace the consistent number of attacking returns he notched on Teesside way.

Finally, another Middlesbrough supporter is glad to see the back of Whittaker, describing him as 'lazy', while his defensive ability was also called into question.

Amario Cozier-Duberry can be the ideal replacement for Morgan Whittaker

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There’s no doubt Middlesbrough will miss the end product of Morgan Whittaker given only two more players had more goal involvements than him last campaign, but Amario Cozier-Duberry has the talent to be the standout replacement, with the promising youngster aiming to shine bright on the Championship stage.

Full of confidence following last season’s exploits in League One, the 21-year-old has all the attributes to be a dangerous player at this level and give opposition defenders headaches, while his quality will be fundamental to Middlesbrough sustaining a promotion push to the top-flight.

While he isn’t quite ready to play in the top-flight just yet, Boro is an ideal place to go to test himself in the second tier, and he should get plenty of game time given he’s the direct replacement for Whittaker and tasked with filling the big boots left by his exit.