{"id":1478030,"date":"2026-08-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1478030"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:58:59","slug":"tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Middlesbrough have made both smart and splashy signings after falling short in the Championship playoffs last season.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2025\/26 campaign had a lot of drama for Boro. After a good start in the league, they saw manager Rob Edwards leave for Wolves. They replaced him with then unknown Kim Hellberg, which couldn&#8217;t have gone better in terms of short-term impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then injuries started creeping in and ultimately killed their chances in the playoffs. Luckily for them, however, Southampton were found guilty of multiple charges of spying throughout the season, meaning the semi final loss to the Saints became a free pass to the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But even against a lesser Hull City &#8211; and having had good enough chances to score -, their season still ended in heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Middlesbrough made it a priority to make sure the issues that plagued them last year won&#8217;t return in the upcoming campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>How have Middlesbrough addressed their main problems?<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-forward-depth\" data-level=\"3\">Forward depth<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-midfield\" data-level=\"3\">Midfield<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-left-back\" data-level=\"3\">Left-back<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-forward-depth\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forward depth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Middlesbrough had many problems towards the end of the season, but none greater than finding the back of the net. No matter how many shots or big chances they created, there always seemed to be a lack of finishing touch to put them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David Strelec (8) and Tommy Conway (13) combined to score 21 Championship goals between them, but also to miss 31 big chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make matters worse, Boro started losing forwards to injuries. Conway himself is still recovering from an ankle issue that kept him out of the World Cup. Midfielder Riley McGree had to play as a false nine for a few minutes in the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it doesn&#8217;t look like that will be the case in the 2026\/27 season. Middlesbrough payed around \u00a310 million to sign Will Lankshear from Tottenham, following a decent spell with Oxford United that saw him score 11 league goals in the second tier last term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only that, but they also signed Kyle Joseph from Hull after losing to them in the playoff final. Joseph might not exactly be worth investing \u00a35 million into, but can do a job in all three positions up front. Myles Peart-Harris also joined on a free after spending the last six months alongside Lankshear at Oxford. Both Joseph and Peart-Harris will provide much-needed depth in the attacking spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"733\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1024x733.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1478031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1024x733.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-768x550.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-373x267.jpg 373w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-279x200.jpg 279w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-84x60.jpg 84w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-103x74.jpg 103w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08165438\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3.jpg 1341w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-midfield\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Midfield<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Middlesbrough lost Championship Player of the Season Hayden Hackney to Everton. However, the over \u00a315 million they received upfront from the Toffees has gone back into strengthening the squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And probably their smartest signing so far, considering fee and return, was the one to replace Hackney. Sebastian Berhalter joined from Vancouver Whitecaps for a reported \u00a31.5 million to form a midfield partnership with fellow American Aidan Morris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Berhalter will certainly add to Boro&#8217;s already strong set pieces. He has led the MLS in assists from set pieces since the start of 2025, with 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/sebastian-berhalter-analysis-why-middlesbrough-are-signing-former-usmnt-bosss-son\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sebastian Berhalter analysis: Why Middlesbrough are signing former USMNT boss\u2019 son<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hellberg has also tinkered with his midfield, switching from their usual 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3 in pre-season. This change has also seen centre-back Adilson Malanda move to a holding midfielder role in their Carabao Cup tie against Wrexham to add more solidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"733\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-1024x733.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1478032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-1024x733.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-768x550.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-373x267.jpg 373w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-279x200.jpg 279w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-84x60.jpg 84w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1-103x74.jpg 103w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08171026\/squad_depth-sticker-4-3-3-1.jpg 1341w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-left-back\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Left-back<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Middlesbrough enjoyed having Matt Targett on loan last year as probably the best left-back in the division. However, he returned to Newcastle United before joining Hull City on a free ahead of the new Premeir League season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, they managed to get a fine replacement &#8211; again in the MLS: former Columbus Crew wing-back Max Arfsten. The 25-year-old was in the United States squad during the World Cup, though he played just a few &#8216;garbage time&#8217; minutes, as Americans would say, in stoppage time of their defeat to Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arfsten adds a lot of dynamism and energy down the wing, with an eye for goal involvements. He racked up 5+ goals and assists in each of his two full years in the MLS and was on pace to doing it again in 2026 before leaving midseason (4G 4A in 17 matches).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite standing out going forward, he is combative enough to make his presence known at the back. There is a chance Boro will have the best left-back in the Championship for a second consecutive campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class='vccm vccm-compare'data-compare=\"ZL6lX-zDlT0Noa79QypfN\" data-show-sponsor=\"false\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Middlesbrough&#8217;s deals have addressed their main needs and turned them into strong promotion contenders, having the third best odds to reach the Premier League. Only recently relegated duo West Ham and Wolves lie ahead of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim Hellberg got somewhat of a &#8216;pass&#8217; last season due to the injuries and being new in the league. But nine months and \u00a325 million invested later, he will have a lot of pressure on him to make Boro perform at the expected level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Good news for them is that they got off to a good start. Boro drew Wrexham in the first round of the Carabao Cup in what was probably the toughest fixture overall. Debutants Sebastian Berhalter and Will Lankshear combined to give their side the winner and a spot in the next round.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football betting tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Middlesbrough have made both smart and splashy signings after falling short in the Championship playoffs last season. The 2025\/26 campaign had a lot of drama for Boro. After a good start in the league, they saw manager Rob Edwards leave for Wolves. They replaced him with then unknown Kim Hellberg, which couldn&#8217;t have gone better&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3354,"featured_media":1478033,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Middlesbrough","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1478030","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Squawka | EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@squawka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guilherme Mirra\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/11e48d44f9c6c2a722b00a0145e36b75\"},\"headline\":\"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-09T11:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":866,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.squawka.com\\\/images\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/08173832\\\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"accessibilityFeature\":[\"tableOfContents\"]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship | Squawka | EN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.squawka.com\\\/images\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/08173832\\\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-09T11:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.squawka.com\\\/images\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/08173832\\\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media.squawka.com\\\/images\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/08173832\\\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Squawka\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/features\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Squawka | EN\",\"description\":\"Football News, Stats, and More...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/11e48d44f9c6c2a722b00a0145e36b75\",\"name\":\"Guilherme Mirra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guilherme Mirra\"},\"description\":\"Guilherme Mirra is a tactical analyst with an FC Barcelona Innovation Hub certificate who has been working with numbers and statistics since getting his degree in Journalism, currently at Squawka and Opta and previously with ESPN Brazil and Sofascore. Guilherme is a S\u00e3o Paulo fan but his favourite league in the world is the Championship.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/guilherme_mirra\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.squawka.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/guilhermemirra\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship | Squawka | EN","description":"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship","og_description":"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/","og_site_name":"Squawka | EN","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@squawka","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Guilherme Mirra","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11e48d44f9c6c2a722b00a0145e36b75"},"headline":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship","datePublished":"2026-08-09T11:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/"},"wordCount":866,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg","inLanguage":"en-GB","accessibilityFeature":["tableOfContents"]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/","name":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship | Squawka | EN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-09T11:00:00+00:00","description":"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/08\/08173832\/Boro080826_ID3F743AB-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-why-middlesbrough-among-favourites-promotion-championship-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Squawka","item":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features","item":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Why summer deals have cemented Middlesbrough among favourites to win promotion from the Championship"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/","name":"Squawka | EN","description":"Football News, Stats, and More...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/11e48d44f9c6c2a722b00a0145e36b75","name":"Guilherme Mirra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0cfb69c02f248f6793db72e9d90188663c8e75e4abe83aea6cf1ea2b108f3e76?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guilherme Mirra"},"description":"Guilherme Mirra is a tactical analyst with an FC Barcelona Innovation Hub certificate who has been working with numbers and statistics since getting his degree in Journalism, currently at Squawka and Opta and previously with ESPN Brazil and Sofascore. Guilherme is a S\u00e3o Paulo fan but his favourite league in the world is the Championship.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/guilherme_mirra"],"url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/guilhermemirra\/"}]}},"yoast_title":"","yoast_description":"Middlesbrough have used the transfer window to boost their chances after falling short in the Championship playoffs. Read to know why.","yoast_keyword":"Middlesbrough","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1478030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3354"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1478030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1478036,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1478030\/revisions\/1478036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1478033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1478030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1478030"},{"taxonomy":"features-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features-category?post=1478030"},{"taxonomy":"squawka-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/squawka-category?post=1478030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}