Middlesbrough had nine senior players leave the club permanently in the 2023/24 season, whether that be in the summer or in January.
Some of these players the club were happy to move on, whilst others manager Michael Carrick would have been desperate to keep at the club.
Boro also made 11 permanent signings across the course of the campaign, so it was something of a season of transition at the Teeside club.
Any hopes of a quieter transfer window this summer may be wishful thinking, with interest expected in the likes of Hayden Hackney and top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath; even with the latter only signing last summer.
Sometimes players must leave to progress their career, but the grass is not always greener on the other side.
With this in mind, here is how the players who departed Middlesbrough have fared since leaving.
Morgan Rogers taking Premier League by storm since Middlesbrough exit
Morgan Rogers only joined Boro in the summer, with the club securing the youngsters services from Manchester City after successful loan spells at Lincoln City, Bournemouth and Blackpool.
The winger scored two goals and provided three assists in 26 Championship games before Aston Villa acted decisively to snatch the 21-year-old from Boro after just half a season for a deal that could be worth up to £16 million.
Since then, Rogers has taken to the Premier League quicker than anyone could have imagined, scoring three league goals and registering one assist in just eight starts.
The England under-21 international has a real chance of being a Champions League player next season too, with Villa sat fourth in the league and in pole position to secure a spot in Europe’s premier competition.
Rogers also has a shot at European glory this season, however his side have work to do after a 4-2 Europa Conference League semi-final defeat to Olympiacos in the first-leg.
Chuba Akpom could be set for another move this summer
Carrick was resigned to the fact the club would have to sell Chuba Akpom last summer with the striker having just 12 months left on his Boro contract and having scored 28 Championship goals in a single season.
That was exactly what happened, although few would have expected the 28-year-old to sign for Dutch giants Ajax.
After a slow start to life in Amsterdam, Akpom has scored a respectable 15 goals in 34 games in all competitions according to Transfermarkt.
However, the former Arsenal striker has struggled to cement a place in the team and has started just eight games in all competitions in what has been a turbulent season for the club.
With two games remaining of the Eredivisie season, Ajax are fifth in the league and unable to improve their position in the remaining games.
There was some speculation that Ajax could sell Akpom in January, just months after arriving in the Netherlands.
Akpom scored in Ajax’s 4-1 win over Volendam on Saturday and made clear when speaking to ESPN via Voetball International the he is unsure where his future will lie.
Akpom said: “I don’t know yet what the club wants. I just want to have fun and play football, it doesn’t matter where.”
“We have two more games to play and then we will see what will happen. I cannot predict the future. The most important thing is that I enjoy it. Whether I start or have to come from the bench, I do what I have to do.”
Matt Crooks just getting started in the MLS
It was a real surprise when Matt Crooks departed Boro for ventures new in America in February, signing for MLS side Real Salt Lake.
The MLS season has only just started so Crooks has not had much chance to show what he can do, but he has played nine league games to help his new team sit top of the Western Conference table.
The other notable departure this season was Martin Payero, who joined Serie A side Udinese having failed to make an impact since Boro spent £6 million to bring him to club in 2021.
The Argentinian has shown his quality since moving to Italy, and has scored twice and assisted once in 26 Udinese games.
The remaining four departures were all free, with Joe Lumley, Grant Hall and Luke Daniels all reaching the end of their contracts and left-back Marc Bola agreeing with the club not to trigger a year extension on his deal.
Lumley has been Southampton’s cup goalkeeper this season, whilst Daniels kept goal 19 times for Forest Green Rovers as they finished bottom of League Two.
Hall made just two league starts as Rotherham United were relegated from the Championship and Bola has had more success in his fresh start in Turkey, playing 20 games in all competitions for Samsunspor.