Middlesbrough owe West Brom & Southampton points to ex-boo boy - Rob Edwards has revolutionised his Boro role | OneFootball

He's arguably been Middlesbrough's best player so far this season, and under the management of Edwards, has revived his Boro career.

From beloved to boo boy and beloved again: Middlesbrough defender Luke Ayling is enjoying a Riverside Stadium rebirth under Boro head coach Rob Edwards.

For Middlesbrough fans, there simply aren't enough hours in the day to elucidate just how good of a job the former Luton Town boss is doing on Teesside, and all the things that he's improved and introduced since taking over from Michael Carrick this summer.

In places such as Middlesbrough, you really can take the town's pulse by looking at the results and league position of their football team, and so it's no surprise that the area is buzzing at this moment in time.

Four points clear at the top of the Championship after seven games and yet to taste defeat in the league; Boro supporters are already starting to feel the butterflies emerging in their stomachs, as belief grows over the possibility of a truly memorable campaign for the North East outfit.

There has been no bigger Middlesbrough beneficiary of Rob Edwards' appointment than Luke Ayling

Edwards' arrival has been the catalyst for pretty much nothing but positive change at Middlesbrough Football Club so far, with the Boro boss surely feeling as though he could walk across the River Tees right now.

That's not just down to the aforementioned form that his side are currently in, as the 42-year-old has already built up a stronger connection with the Middlesbrough faithful after seven league games than the vast majority of managers that have came and went at the football club in recent times.

As such, the town and its people have perhaps been the biggest beneficiaries of his appointment to this point, as in a place where the football club truly is the beating heart of the area, the importance of Boro fans shouting from the top of the Cleveland Hills about their team once again can't be understated.

However, when it comes to those within his first-team squad, there is surely no player that will be feeling more grateful than Luke Ayling for having Edwards as his new head coach.

The 34-year-old joined Boro on loan for the second-half of the 2023/24 season, and after providing eight assists in just 19 Championship appearances, the club made the no-brainer decision to sign him as a free agent in the summer of last year.

But, 2024/25 was an extremely challenging year for the veteran defender. Predominantly operating from his usual right-back spot, the former Leeds United stalwart's performances took an alarming and frustrating downturn.

As a result, the vast majority of Middlesbrough fans were calling for him to be replaced this summer, believing that his time on Teesside as a quality and viable starting player were over.

"It was really tough," Ayling admitted in an interview via Teesside Live on his struggles last season.

"I was dealing with a lot of injuries and I felt like I was getting jabs in my knees, ribs, and ankles. I was never really fit probably after my first injury around October. I was always fighting it but players were getting injured at the wrong time so I felt like I had to play.

"I knew I wasn't playing great football but I wasn't going to quit and not play. Then I finally got back in the team and playing centre-back which I was enjoying, but then I got injured again. Last year was disappointing. It was probably the first time I had to fight those injuries weekly. I was always fighting against something.

"I am strong willed and I know I can do it but when you're stuck in a rut it's hard to get out of it. I knew I'd come out of it one way or the other. I never try and let it get me too down, but there were times when I was thinking I'm in my last year now, I won't be playing..."

Edwards and his coaching team evidently pinpointed Ayling's poor season at right-back, and made a conscious and deliberate decision to evolve his role in his new-look Boro team as the right-sided centre-back in his back three of central defenders, with wing-backs accompanying them on the flanks.

That has proven to be an inspired decision, as he's started in and played every single minute of Middlesbrough's Championship season so far, and has put in arguably his best performances in a Boro shirt during this period.

“But I feel like I've got a new lease of life now. I feel like I can play centre-half for two, three, four years so the change of position has been really good for me. I'm really enjoying it. I feel in a lot better place this year. I'm hoping I can carry that on."

Two, three or maybe even four more years of Ayling playing in central defence? That will be music to Middlesbrough fans' ears given his showings there so far this term!

Without Luke Ayling, Middlesbrough's unbeaten Championship record wouldn't still be intact

Last season, Ayling was routinely losing his individual battles in defence, was making costly defensive errors, and wasn't providing the attacking outlet he had been whilst on loan at the Riverside, with just two assists to his name last term.

However, he's already matched his assist tally from last season through seven games in 2025/26, and as for the defensive issues, he's barely put a foot wrong so far.

But it's his contributions in attack - particularly in the last two games - which have proven to be truly invaluable to Middlesbrough so far this season, as without it, Boro's unbeaten record would not still be standing.

Firstly, West Bromwich Albion.

Boro's clash with the Baggies under the Friday night Riverside lights on 19 September was to that point their biggest game of the season so far, and undoubtedly the biggest test of their early promotion credentials.

It wasn't a vintage Middlesbrough performance that night, as Albion enjoyed the lion's share of possession, and registered more shots on goal than the home side, but it was to be Boro's night.

George Edmundson's long throw was hurled into the Albion box on 26 minutes, and it was Ayling who was able to get himself in-front of two West Brom defenders to expertly flick-on the ball, enabling David Strelec to pounce for his first Middlesbrough goal.

That opened the scoring in the game, and helped ensure it would be three points rather than one for the Teessiders, as after Kaly Sene's strike on the hour mark to make it 2-0, Aune Heggebo scored a late goal for Albion to take the full-time score to 2-1.

Then came Southampton.

This time, it was Middlesbrough chasing the game late on, as Adam Armstrong's volley on 61 minutes opened the scoring for the Saints at St Mary's.

However, Ayling would be on hand once again to provide a stroke of creative genius, as it was his exquisite defence-splitting pass that found Sene, before the 24-year-old summer signing from Lausanne-Sport was able to touch with his left and finish with his right from a tight angle in the 77th minute.

The game would finish 1-1, earning Boro a precious point on the road, and preserving their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

So, whether it's the defensive side of his game or the attacking, Ayling has been reborn as a Middlesbrough player under Edwards, and looks set to play a vital role in central defence for the Smoggies for the remainder of the season, so long as he stays injury-free.