It would be no surprise to see Middlesbrough midfielder seek January exit: View | OneFootball

Dan Barlaser appears to have fallen out of favour at the Riverside Stadium, and thus a January exit could well be on the cards.

Middlesbrough midfielder Dan Barlaser has seemingly fallen down the pecking order at the Riverside Stadium this season, after signing from Rotherham United in January 2023.

The 27-year-old central midfielder has been relegated to a backup role through the early stages of the 2024/25 season, after summer signing Aidan Morris has made a highly impressive start to his Boro career.

Interest in Barlaser emerged over the summer, with reports from Turkey heavily linking Trabzonspor with a move, which is made even more notable given the fact that he can and has represented Turkey at youth international level earlier in his career.

With the former Rotherham man out of favour on Teesside, he could be plotting an exit from the club come the January transfer window...

Barlaser has become lost in Boro's midfield depth

Whilst other areas of the pitch have been perennial problem positions for Middlesbrough in recent years, Boro have always seemed to find quality and strength in depth in the middle of the park.

This season is no different, with Hayden Hackney and the aforementioned Morris forming one of the best central midfield partnerships in the Championship so far this term.

With Boro boss Michael Carrick favouring a midfield two, that has meant that if you're a centre-midfielder and your surname isn't Hackney or Morris, you're likely not going to be in the starting XI.

As such, Barlaser has been limited to just four appearances and one league start after nine Championship matches so far this campaign, with his only other two starts coming in the Carabao Cup.

For context, he made 41 appearances in all competitions for the club last season, with 33 of those coming in the league - this was partly due to Hackney's injury woes, however.

Despite his early season injury stealing away his chance of cementing his place in the team, even Middlesbrough's evergreen midfield general and club captain Jonny Howson faces his toughest test to get in the starting lineup this year.

The club is also very excited about a number of homegrown central midfield talents coming through their academy too, with England youth international Law McCabe having made his first team debut last season, and has already been involved in a number of matchday squads this term too.

Fellow England youth international Fin Cartwright is another name that Middlesbrough hold in high regard, as he became Boro's second youngest debutant in the club's history when he came on as late substitute in a Carabao Cup tie with Huddersfield Town last season.

Barlaser will surely want to spend his prime years playing regular football.

All of those factors appear to have diminished Barlaser's long-term value and importance to the club, and with him firmly in the middle of his prime years, a bit part role is surely one he will have little interest in playing.

It's not like he hasn't proven himself in the Championship either, as upon signing for Middlesbrough at the halfway point of last season, Barlaser's seven assists in 28 games saw him lead the division in that category.

Barlaser joined Boro for a reported fee of around £900k, and given the fact he faces an uphill battle for regular playing time at the Riverside this season, Middlesbrough might not be able to justify setting an asking price much larger than that for him.

If so, one would expect a host of Championship clubs would surely take an interest in him, given his experience in the second tier and with plenty of good years still ahead of him.

With Middlesbrough evidently confident that they've found their midfield partnership of the future in Hackney and Morris, and a bundle of highly-rated youngsters coming through in his position, Barlaser may well see no clear path to regular minutes on Teesside.

Therefore, he will surely be a name to watch in the transfer market come the opening of the January transfer window...