Kim Hellberg has spoken of his disappointment at losing Dael Fry but backed the defender's decision to leave Middlesbrough this summer. The 29-year-old ended a 21-year association with the club when his contract expired at the end of June, joining Birmingham City on a free transfer.
"For me, it was very disappointing to lose Dael," said Hellberg, the Middlesbrough manager. "I think he was playing his best football at the end of the season for us." Fry has made two substitute appearances in the Championship for Birmingham since his move, also starting in their 6-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Brentford. Hellberg added that he likes Fry very much as a person and that it will be good to see him again, albeit in a different shirt.
Summer turnover reshapes squad
Fry's departure was part of a significant summer of change at the Riverside. Twelve new signings arrived while key figures like Hayden Hackney, Morgan Whittaker, Matt Targett and Alan Browne all left. This high turnover made for a challenging start to the campaign. "We always talked about this because of the situation with so many new players in and so many players lost and left," Hellberg explained. He said the team needed time to get up to speed physically, tactically and in its structure. The manager noted that the team's early-season form, which has seen them average 2.0 goals per game while conceding 1.3, reflects a period of adaptation for the new squad.
Early season outlook and upcoming fixtures
Despite the upheaval, Hellberg is relatively content with the early progress. Middlesbrough signed off for the extended international break sitting third in the Championship standings with 14 points from seven games. Their last outing was a 2-2 draw at Birmingham, where Max Arfsten and A.Malanda scored for Boro. The manager believes the players have done excellently given the circumstances, particularly in maintaining a strong defensive shape that has limited opponents to an average of just 4.7 shots on target per match. He stated that the break provides a key opportunity for further work on fitness and tactics ahead of the next set of games, which includes a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 10 October as part of a busy fixtures list.
He is confident that with more time on the training ground, the team's performances in the middle phases of games will become more consistent and dominant.
More detail at Yorkshire Post
