Why Middlesbrough should keep hold of George Friend amid contract saga
According to claims from Football Insider (h/t Teesside Live), Middlesbrough have offered veteran defender George Friend a new deal following the expiry of his contract at the Riverside Stadium.
The 32-year-old is currently a free agent but Boro boss Neil Warnock has expressed his desire to keep him on the books after guiding the club to safety in the Championship last season.
However, Middlesbrough are waiting to hear whether Friend would be interested in accepting a new contract offer that would see him take a pay cut on his previous deal. (Football Insider h/t Teesside Live)
As per the source, Friend has also attracted interest from fellow second-tier rivals Nottingham Forest, Swansea City, and Birmingham City.
Middlesbrough’s current defensive scenario
A late flurry of positive results towards the end of the 2019-20 campaign saw Middlesbrough somehow drag themselves to safety in the Championship and save themselves from the ignominy of relegation to the third-tier.
However, the Teessiders have plenty of room for improvement after finishing 17th in the standings, just five points clear of the drop zone. They only managed to score 48 goals last term – the worst scoring record in the division – so Warnock certainly needs to beef up his attacking cavalry heading into the upcoming campaign.
Boro weren’t all that bad defensively though, conceding 61 goals throughout the 2019-20 season. Having lost the likes of Daniel Ayala and Ryan Shotton following the expiry of their contracts at the end of the season, Warnock has wrapped up some early business in the transfer window with the acquisition of centre-back Grant Hall on a free transfer.
Why they need to keep hold of Friend
With that in mind, however, it might not be a good idea for Middlesbrough to field a completely new-look backline in the Championship next season, having already lost the long-serving duo of Shotton and Ayala.
That’s one of the key reasons why Warnock needs to make sure that George Friend stays put at the Riverside Stadium despite question marks over his future. The 32-year-old only played a bit-part role under Jonathan Woodgate before enjoying a resurrection following the appointment of Warnock in June.
The Barnstaple-born star started each of Boro’s last nine fixtures in the Championship this season after the restart, featuring as a central defender, as the new manager rotated between back-three and back-four formations. He played the full ninety minutes in each of those fixtures, which is a clear indication that the manager rates him as a defender.
The 32-year-old lives and breathes the culture at Middlesbrough, having made a mammoth 299 appearances for the Teessiders over the course of the past eight seasons. A proven performer in England’s second-tier, Friend has been an invaluable asset to the club and Warnock certainly needs an experienced head to hold things together at the back.
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Verdict
Still only 32, George Friend is far from a spent force and while it remains to be seen whether or not he is prepared to take a pay cut to extend his association with Middlesbrough, the Teessiders certainly need to do all they can to keep him at the club.
