Middlesbrough may face a battle to retain the services of Rav van den Berg in the summer transfer window.
The defender only joined Michael Carrick‘s side last summer, signing from PEC Zwolle for an undisclosed fee.
However, his form is already attracting some considerable attention from elsewhere. Premier League sides such as Everton and West Ham have recently been credited with an interest in him.
Given he only joined the club last summer, there may be some hope at Middlesbrough that he will not be on the move again so quickly.
However, it has now been pointed out that one recent example at The Riverside Stadium, could mean that does little to influence the future of van den Berg.
Morgan Rogers comparison made
Back in the summer transfer window, another player who was signed by Middlesbrough, was Morgan Rogers.
The attacker moved to The Riverside Stadium from Manchester City, for a fee of around £1million.
However, by the January transfer window, Rogers had moved on again. This time, he had been sold to Aston Villa, for a fee worth up to £15million.
Journalist Phil Spencer therefore believes the short turnaround in Rogers’ career, means there can be no guarantee that van den Berg will remain at Middlesbrough for an extended period.
Speaking on his YouTube channel about how the club might respond to interest in the defender, he said:
“As part of Middlesbrough’s business model every player does have a price. The whole set up of what we’re doing at the moment is based on bringing players in and then selling them on for a hefty profit.
“We did it with Morgan Rogers, he was only at the club for six months before we sold him on. So I think the fact that van den Berg’s been at the club for 12 months, I don’t think you can rule out an exit based on that alone.”
There are around three years remaining on van den Berg’s contract with Middlesbrough. That does mean they would at least be able to demand a decent fee in response to any interest that might emerge in the teenager.
Middlesbrough can be confident over Rav van den Berg situation
It could be argued that in some ways, this gives those at The Riverside Stadium reason to be optimistic over the situation surrounding van den Berg.
Obviously, a player with his ability is not one they are going to want to let go at such an early stage of his career.
Indeed, with so long left on his contract, there is no need for them to do so either.
What that does mean though, is that if he is to leave, he ought to only do so for a sizeable fee.
Of course, Middlesbrough showed with the sale of Rogers in January, that they do know how to make a big profit on a player.
As a result, they should be confident that if van den Berg does leave in the summer, it will be for a sizeable return on their investment.
That in turn, ought to leave them with plenty of funds to invest in further strengthening the squad.
This therefore, could be an exciting situation for Middlesbrough, given the opportunity they will have to add to their squad if he goes, and the quality they will be retaining if he stays.