Middlesbrough will be preparing for another shot at Premier League glory during the 2026-27 season. Kim Hellberg’s men will be aiming to put their gut-wrenching play-off final defeat to Hull City behind them and be back in promotion contention next term. The Teesside outfit have brought four players into the building, addressing the wide areas immediately by confirming the permanent signing of Jeremy Sarmiento from Brighton, while they also completed the capture of Oxford United attacker Myles Peart-Harris on a free transfer. Middlesbrough have further bolstered their forward options too, completing big-money moves for forwards Kyle Joseph (£5m) and Will Lankshear (£20m) from Hull City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. The player seemingly high on their shortlist is Spurs defender Ash Phillips, who is hot property in the Championship following two successful loan stints with Stoke City. For a permanent move, Tottenham are reportedly seeking a fee of £10m to secure Phillips’ services, raising some debate about whether such a sizeable sum is worth paying. FLW’s Middlesbrough fan pundit has commented on the links to Phillips and whether the club should be paying double figures to bring him to the Riverside Stadium this summer. ‘£10m might be a bit steep, but I feel like it’ll be quite a similar deal to Will Lankshear, where we pay quite a bit of a lone fee up front and then a lot of add-ons for if we get promoted. I think that’s a fair deal and a fine deal because you pay for success at the end of the day. He’s a very good player. He’s one that seems very exciting and Stoke fans seem very keen to have him back and that’s always a good sign. He’s still young and got a lot of time to develop. He’d add height to our team and with a new midfielder coming in who’s apparently a dead-ball specialist, we could be looking at a very strong squad. With the 2025-26 season coming to an end, Middlesbrough will be looking to build on their 5th-place finish, 15 points behind leaders Coventry, and aim to secure a top-six spot. The team will be looking to bounce back from a tough 2025-26 campaign, where they conceded 47 goals in 46 games, and will be eager to improve their goal difference. As the 2026-27 season gets underway, Middlesbrough will be looking to make a strong start, with their next fixture against Blackburn at home on 2nd March 2027.