With hindsight, Middlesbrough landing £4.5m from Leeds United transfer was a real coup: View | OneFootball

Highlights

footballleagueworld video of the day

Adam Forshaw departed Leeds United for Norwich City this summer after five-and-a-half seasons at Elland Road.

The Liverpool-born midfielder joined Leeds from Middlesbrough in January 2018 for a fee of £4.5 million, according to the BBC.

This was a fee that raised some eyebrows, as Forshaw was by no means a regular in the Boro side and Leeds, at the time, were a mid-table Championship side - having finished 13th in the second tier in 2017/18.

However, Forshaw would go on to enjoy success as Leeds, winning the Championship title in 2019/20 and enjoying three successive Premier League seasons before relegation in 2023.

How did Adam Forshaw perform for Middlesbrough?

Forshaw joined Boro in January 2015 from Wigan Athletic. The midfielder started his career at Everton, making just two appearance for the Toffees before joining Brentford in 2012.

After an impressive two-year spell in West London with the Bees, it was announced that Forshaw would move north to Wigan in 2014. After just half a season at the DW Stadium, Forshaw joined Boro on a three-and-a-half year deal.

During his first couple of months at the Riverside Stadium, Forshaw would help lead Boro to the play-off final. However, things didn't go to plan for Boro or Forshaw as he didn't feature in the game and the club lost to Norwich City.

The midfielder would make 29 Championship appearances during the 2015/16 season, but just nine of those were starts with Forshaw finding it difficult to break into the Boro side as they gained promotion to the Premier League.

Despite finding starts hard to come by in the Championship, it was a different story in the Premier League the following year as the ex-Wigan man started 30 Premier League games, making a further four substitute appearances as Boro were relegated at the first time of asking.

Back in the Championship, Forshaw struggled for game time, playing just 14 games and struggling for starts. Leeds would offer Forshaw a lifeline in January and brought the midfielder to Elland Road for what seemed like a rather expensive £4.5million.

Leeds' decision was vindicated, with Forshaw spending over five years in West Yorkshire, but looking back it was a rather expensive transfer for someone who flattered to deceive in the Championship with Boro.

How did Adam Forshaw's career go after leaving Boro?

Forshaw would make 32 appearances during the 2018/19 campaign for Leeds before suffering an injury-ravaged promotion winning campaign during the 2019/20 season, where he made just seven league appearances.

When available, he was a reliable head to call upon and someone who had quickly earned the trust of Marcelo Bielsa as the Argentine helped the Whites return to the promised land.

The same injury would keep Forshaw out of the entire 2020/21 season, but he returned to action the following campaign when he made 22 Premier League appearances as Leeds just avoided relegation.

However, Forshaw's further 12 Premier League appearances during the 2022/23 campaign weren't enough to help the club avoid relegation. He made just 91 appearances at Elland Road due to injury.

As a free agent, now 32-year-old Forshaw joined Norwich City in the summer but has made just a handful of appearances for the Canaries. His deal expires in the summer of 2024.