The 8 Middlesbrough players set to leave the Riverside Stadium in 2026 | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at all the first-team Boro players who are set to depart the club next summer when their contracts expire.

Middlesbrough will be very much hoping that 2026 will be the year Premier League football finally returns to the Riverside Stadium.

Indeed, Boro have been scrapping away in the Championship since their top-flight relegation in 2016/17, but there are signs their exile could be close to being over.

The Rob Edwards era has begun in a very positive fashion, with his side showing promising progression in key areas such as set-piece effectiveness, defensive solidity, and tactical nous.

In addition to that, a number of quality additions have now been made to the squad after a frustratingly slow start to their summer recruitment drive, as the likes of Sverre Nypan, Sontje Hansen, Callum Brittain and Alfie Jones have all signed on at the Riverside.

However, 2026 will also be a year that sees a number of current Middlesbrough first-team players facing an uncertain future in the North East.

Football League World takes a look at all the Boro first-team stars who are set to leave the club next year upon the expiration of their contracts, as per a report from TeessideLive - note, some players have left the club since this report was published in May.

Tom Glover

A player who simply hasn't been able to perform consistently enough to win the trust coaches and supporters alike on Teesside.

2025/26 looks nailed on to be Tom Glover's final campaign as a Middlesbrough player, having joined the club on a free transfer back in the summer of 2023.

The 27-year-old proved himself to be a smart goalkeeper in his native Australia, and given the nature of the deal that brought him to Boro, the former Melbourne City man always had the feel of being a backup option who could push the number one shot-stopper.

When he has been handed the opportunity to play, Glover has largely failed to look like a shot-stopper capable of being a viable starting option in England's second tier, particularly for a club that has clear promotion ambitions such as Middlesbrough.

Therefore, it will come as little surprise to anyone connected with the club should he leave as a free agent upon the expiration of his contract next summer, or indeed, before that.

Luke Ayling

Another player who signed a free agent contract with Middlesbrough, albeit after spending the second half of the 2023/24 season on loan from Leeds United.

Luke Ayling's Boro story has been one of ups and downs.

After a superb loan stint that saw him contribute eight assists in 19 appearances, the club made the no-brainer decision to hand him a contract upon leaving Elland Road as a free agent.

However, his 2024/25 campaign fell alarmingly short of the heights he'd reached the previous term, as the versatile defender made a number of costly individual mistakes as part of a Boro backline that consistently found ways to hurt themselves through self-inflicted errors.

But, the soon-to-be 34-year-old has started the current campaign in very promising fashion, operating as the right-sided centre-back in Edwards' system, offering many Boro fans hope that he will once again become a vital part of the team in this new centre-back role.

Should he do so, he could well see himself do enough to earn a new deal to prevent him hitting the free agent market once again next summer.

Dael Fry

One of Middlesbrough's own, and potentially one of their most important players this season given his early showings under Edwards.

Only Rotherham United have sampled Dael Fry's talents other than his boyhood Boro, with the no-nonsense central defender celebrating a decade of first-team service for the Teessiders in 2025/26.

From a fresh-faced 17-year-old stepping onto the pitch away at Preston North End in 2015 for his Middlesbrough debut, to a central figure in the club's defensive unit and someone who has been entrusted to wear the captain's armband numerous times already this term, Fry is a player Boro surely have no interest in letting walk free next summer.

The soon-to-turn 28-year-old has already shown he can be a real goalscoring threat from set-pieces this season, and looks to be a natural choice to skipper the side in the post-Jonny Howson era.

Darragh Lenihan

Darragh Lenihan has endured a highly frustrating time on Teesside.

Signed on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 following a lengthy spell with Blackburn Rovers, Lenihan enjoyed a superb debut 2022/23 season at the Riverside, as he played an essential role in helping Michael Carrick's side rise from relegation contenders, to play-off semi-finalists.

However, just weeks into the 2023/24 campaign, the central defender suffered the first of a frustrating string of ankle and Achilles injuries that has meant he's still yet to kick a ball in anger in the league since September 2023, heading into Boro's trip to Norwich City this weekend.

Now 31, the Republic of Ireland international will be hoping that he will finally be able to return to action in the next few weeks, and should he do so and stay fit, he could act as a new signing for Middlesbrough this season.

But, his contract is set to expire next summer, and so he will need to prove his fitness and quality once again should he wish to be handed extended terms.

Dan Barlaser

Dan Barlaser cuts a divisive figure among Middlesbrough supporters.

Talk to some, and they see a 28-year-old central midfielder who lacks consistent performances, energy, and is a player that should be moved on by the club.

Speak to others, however, and they see a player who has proven he can perform at a high level in the Championship in the past, and has perhaps been a little bit unlucky during his time on Teesside so far.

Regardless, it's fairly apparent to all concerned that the former Rotherham United man is firmly down the pecking order at the Riverside, not helped by the fact Boro have added two further talented young central midfielders to their ranks this summer in the form of Abdoulaye Kante, and Sverre Nypan respectively.

Therefore, with his contract expiring next summer, Barlaser looks certain to call time on his Middlesbrough career this season. It just seems to be a case of whether Boro will be able to bag a fee for him, or will have to see him leave as a free agent.

Marcus Forss

Another player who is the cause of significant frustration among the Boro faithful, Marcus Forss just can't seem to kickstart his Middlesbrough career.

Still only 26, the Finnish forward made the move to Teesside back in the summer of 2022 from Brentford, and although signed as a striker, has largely seen his opportunities at the Riverside come from out wide.

His debut 2022/23 campaign saw him net 10 goals and provide five assists in 42 total appearances, and looked to be a smart addition to the squad as a highly effective rotational option.

Ever since then, however, Forss has seen his Boro career blighted by injury, and as such, has made just 23 and 25 total appearances over the last two full seasons.

Combine this with the largely agreed upon view that he's a good player at this level when fit and firing, and certainly the kind of player who could thrive in Edwards' front-footed, high-energy system, and you have a forward that so many Boro fans are undoubtedly pulling for.

However, with the presence of some high-quality competition for playing time in the form of Morgan Whittaker, Finn Azaz, Sontje Hansen, Delano Burgzorg, Riley McGree and now Nypan too, Forss' pathway to meaningful minutes looks long and treacherous indeed.

Therefore, he is another player that not too many would be shocked to see leave the club as a free agent next summer, or before that.

Sammy Silvera

One of the standout redemption stories of the Edwards era on Teesside so far, Sammy Silvera's Middlesbrough career looked all but dead and buried upon his loan return this summer.

Such was the disappointment and lack of impact he was able to make during his two temporary spells with first Portsmouth, and then Blackpool last season, where he was only able to score a single goal and provide a single assist across both moves.

Therefore, having struggled to show signs of promise at both Championship and League One level last term, he was one of many Boro fans' bankers to be shipped out of the North East this summer, having arrived from Australia in 2023.

But, a transfer-related sliding door moment has presented itself for him at the Riverside this summer, as Boro have so far failed in their attempts to sign a left wing-back.

As such, Silvera has been chosen to fill that role in the meantime, and so far, he's not just proving to be a useful stopgap, he's firmly on the path to making that position his own in the Boro starting XI.

Therefore, he looks well on course to win himself a new contract with the club, ahead of his current deal expiring next summer.

Sonny Finch

Sonny Finch's name has been a familiar one to Middlesbrough supporters for a number of years now, having always been a young striker held in high regard by the club.

However, as of yet, the now 20-year-old centre-forward hasn't been able to break into Boro's starting XI, and has so far been resigned to a place in the matchday squad as an unused substitute under Edwards.

Therefore, unless an injury crisis strikes down Boro's forward line, then Finch looks likely to spend the 2025/26 season continuing to sit on the first-team bench, whilst instead getting his game-time by playing academy football.

Finch's contract with the club expires next summer, and looks highly likely to be once again loaned out before the 1 September deadline, in order for the club to hand him the best possible chance of impressing enough elsewhere at senior level in order to win a new deal.