£9m Aston Villa star is 'what Kim Hellberg would want' as Middlesbrough eye transfer raid | OneFootball

Lewis Dobbin has been linked with a switch from Aston Villa to Kim Hellberg's Middlesbrough after an excellent loan with Preston North End...

Middlesbrough have been urged to make Lewis Dobbin their first new signing of the summer from Aston Villa, with Boro missing out on promotion to the Premier League via the play-off final and Kim Hellberg now looking to rebuild.

Jeremy Sarmiento has been made permanent from his initial loan but Middlesbrough have not officially acquired a new player yet, albeit both Sheffield United and Preston North End have been linked to Lewis Dobbin as well.

However, it is Middlesbrough who have since joined the Dobbin race recently and they are pushing hard to bring him in after his loan with Preston last season. He managed 19 goal involvements in all competitions with the Lilywhites, with no other player beating that figure

Dobbin has had loans with West Brom and Norwich City previously but none as productive as last season. The Everton academy product joined Villa back in June 2024 for a fee of around £9 million, according to the BBC.

The Middlesbrough verdict on signing Lewis Dobbin from Aston Villa

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Still only 23, Dobbin is under contract with Villa until the summer of 2028. They will likely want to recoup as much of the fee they paid for him just two years ago if they are to go ahead with sanctioning a permanent exit for the Boro target.

FLW asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day for his thoughts on the fact Dobbin is wanted by Boro on a permanent deal after an impressive season with Preston on loan. He usually plays out on the left but was more of a number 10 for PNE and notched plenty of goal contributions.

We asked him about this and if he would be happy to land Dobbin this summer for the right price. He responded: "Yeah, this is a signing I'd be very happy for Boro to make.

"He seems a really good player. Let's be realistic now, he did really well at a very average Preston side. It seems like he stood out.

"I can't say I watched too much of him but he seems versatile. He seems like what Kim Hellberg would want. He offers a different option to what we have, too.

"He seems skillful and he seems a bit pacey. The only red flag is a bit of an injury record, in which he came off a lot in the 60th minute at Preston.

"But I don't think that's too big of a red flag. If Boro can get this done at a decent deal, I don't see why we shouldn't sign him.

"He seems like a really good player. He's only 23. Yeah, he's quite young, so it would be a good start to Boro's window if we can get him over the line."

Middlesbrough need far more quality to supplement their forward line

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Hellberg deserves enormous credit for the job he has done at Middlesbrough since arriving in November. No Championship side created more shots than Boro during that period, highlighting just how effectively he implemented his attacking philosophy over what Rob Edwards was trying and that he structured the team incredibly well in possession.

However, their inability to convert those chances ultimately proved to be costly, denying them an automatic promotion place before they suffered further heartbreak in the play-off final. They were incredibly profligate and it underlines the need for greater quality and ruthlessness in the final third this summer.

Middlesbrough require forwards capable of turning dominance and territory into goals on a more consistent basis, which helps explain their reported interest in Dobbin. The winger has begun to significantly improve his end product, making him one of the standout options for Boro and Hellberg this summer.

While Dobbin alone is unlikely to solve Boro's attacking issues, he would represent an excellent first step towards building a more clinical forward line ahead of another promotion push. More to supplement this deal is undoubtedly required, but Dobbin will absolutely improve their attack dramatically on his own.