What's happened to Rav van den Berg since he left Middlesbrough? | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at how Rav van den Berg has got on since leaving Middlesbrough for FC Koln

Middlesbrough's grasp on the automatic places may have slipped in recent weeks, with both Ipswich Town and Millwall hot on their tails, though they are still having an exceptional season.

Middlesbrough began the season in fine form under Welsh boss Rob Edwards before he jumped ship for Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers after 16 games, and was replaced by Swedish boss Kim Hellberg.

Hellberg had never managed outside of Sweden before, nor had he ever played, meaning that Boro is his first professional job outside his native country, and though expectations were sky-high upon his arrival, he has done well to exceed those expectations.

Boro have arguably improved under his tenure, with his fluid style of football winning over many Boro supporters and launching them into a battle at the summit of the Championship table with just seven games remaining and everything to play for.

A busy summer window saw around £25 million worth of talent leave the club, whilst around £25 million was reinvested into new arrivals across the summer and January.

That included the £11.2 million deal to sell Dutch defender Rav van den Berg to German side FC Koln, who have had a mixed time since his move to the Bundesliga.

How Rav van den Berg has fared since leaving Middlesbrough for FC Koln in the summer

Since departing Boro in the summer, Van den Berg has had a relatively tough time in Germany.

With Joel Schmied, Timo Hubers, Cenk Ozkacar, Dominique Heintz, and former Luton Town player Tom Krauss as competition, Van den Berg has made 13 league appearances thus far, though that could have been much more had he not been unavailable across various stages of the season.

A shoulder injury picked up after just two league games ruled the 21-year-old out for eight games, and in his four appearances following his return to the side yielded zero wins, with a straight red card against Union Berlin in his fourth.

He'd then spend the next five matches he was available for in and out of the side, though he has stapled himself as a regular in recent weeks; Koln, however, are just two points above the bottom three, and need a big upturn in form sooner rather than later if they are to avoid the drop.

In total, Koln have only been victorious in two of Van den Berg's appearances, in what has been a tough start to life in Germany for the Dutch youth international.

He will be hoping for a strong finish to the season to rescue what has been a difficult adjustment year for the defender, having left Boro in the summer for an eight-figure fee.

Kim Hellberg could have used someone like Rav ven den Berg in his side amid an array of injuries in Middlesbrough's ranks

In truth, Middlesbrough could do with someone exactly like Van den Berg right now to help to bolster their defensive options.

The likes of George Edmundson, Dael Fry, Alfie Jones, and Darragh Lenihan have all suffered numerous injuries across the campaign, which have disrupted their playing time and, as a result, left Hellberg with few options.

In his preferred back four formation, both Matt Targett and Luke Ayling have played in the centre of defence across the year, and whilst both have done admirably when called upon, it's still certainly not an ideal situation to have.

The pre-planned arrival of Adilson Malanda in January has helped to ease the strain on the back line, though it can't be denied that they may have one foot in the Premier League right now had they had another fit and available centre-back option.

Whilst a lot of their summer arrivals, such as David Strelec, Callum Brittain, and Alife Jones, likely wouldn't have signed had Van den Berg not have left, you can't help but wonder what position they may be in right now had the Dutchman stayed at the club.

Van den Berg made 66 first-team appearances across his two years on Teesside despite his tender age, and whilst in an ideal world Boro would have liked to have kept him, the fee they received for him was a good one, all things considered.

Whether Boro live to regret the sale of the Dutchman remains to be seen, though there's no denying his presence this season, with the amount of injuries they have sustained would have been more than useful.