According to Teesside Live, Middlesbrough youngster, Mitchell Curry, is set to return to the Riverside Stadium in January when his six-month loan deal at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Championship comes to an end.
The 20-year-old hasn’t featured regularly for Inverness in the Scottish second-tier due to an ankle injury that ruled him out of action for three months.
However, the Boro starlet has recently bagged a couple of goals since returning from injury and Curry is now set to return to his parent club when the transfer window reopens in January in a bid to prove that he is worthy of a new deal, with his present contract at Teesside set to expire in 2020. (h/t Teesside Live)
Speaking to the Press and Journal, Inverness manager John Robinson hailed Mitchell Curry as a good young goalscorer in the making, although he has pointed out that the 20-year-old would need to avoid injuries and prove his credentials soon enough if he is to earn a new deal at Middlesbrough.
Curry, who rose through the youth ranks at Boro and featured for the U-19s in the UEFA Youth League during the 2015-16 campaign, has made his mark for the club across various age-group levels but he is yet to make his senior professional bow.
A promising tally of 6 goals in 12 games in the U-18 Premier League in the following season paved the way for a transition to the U-23s in the Premier League 2 Division 2, and Curry went on to make 13 appearances for the club’s reserves during the 2017-18 campaign, while also spending time on loan at Harrogate Town in the National League North.
The talented striker was loaned out to Inverness in the summer to allow him to muster up much-needed professional experience in his CV, but injuries have stalled his progress and Mitchell Curry currently finds himself fighting for his future at Middlesbrough.
To put things into perspective, Mitchell Curry is yet to make his senior debut for Boro but he could still have a future at the Riverside Stadium, and the Teessiders should not hesitate to offer him an extension to allow him sufficient time to prove his worth, given his obvious talent and potential.
Boro breathed some life back into their tottering campaign in the Championship with a 1-0 victory over Barnsley but they were set back by the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Leeds United. Woodgate needs to find solutions to multiple problems in January if the Teessiders are to avoid the ignominy of relegation to the third-tier, leave alone a respectable mid-table finish.
Lack of goals has been one of the key reasons behind their undoing and it’s certainly one of the major takeaways from the club’s terrible start to the season.
Boro have managed to score only 16 goals in 19 games so far, while they’ve conceded 27 in the process and they simply can’t afford to entertain hopes of survival with such a shambolic scoring record.
Britt Assombalonga has been the top-scorer with 6 goals so far while Ashley Fletcher has chipped in with 3 in the Championship but Boro’s lack of genuine striking options beyond those two players has been well-documented, with Rudy Gestede’s involvement restricted to only four cameos off the bench.
To that end, Mitchell Curry is certainly worth a punt for Woodgate during the second half of the campaign as he looks to get the club’s campaign back on track following a nightmarish start.
Scoring goals will be the key to Boro’s survival hopes, and while relying on an unproven starlet like Curry could be a big gamble for Woodgate, the 20-year-old certainly deserves a chance to prove his credentials in the Championship, having been a part of the U23 ranks for such a long time.
Academy prospects like Hayden Coulson and Stephen Walker have made a name for themselves this season despite the club’s poor run of form in the Championship, and Mitchell Curry could be the next in the queue to earn senior recognition.
Plus, with 31-year-old Rudy Gestede out of contract next summer, Boro should start looking at Curry as a young player with the necessary skillset who could possibly be groomed into a first-team player in the years to come.
It is true that injuries have been a major stumbling block in his development curve but at 20, he still has plenty of time left on his side to push on for greater heights and Boro need to hold patience with their academy prospect to allow him to fulfil his true potential.
All in all, Woodgate integrating the budding 20-year-old striker in his plans and extending his stay at the club could work wonders for Boro in the years to come.
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