Middlesbrough have revealed that they are open to offers for experienced defender Afernee Dijksteel, according to the Northern Echo.
The 27-year-old has been with Boro since 2019 and has played over 120 times following a move from Charlton Atheltic for an undisclosed fee. In all competitions, he made 24 outings this season, where he helped the side to two clean sheets and has an 85% passing rate according to Sofascore.
He had already appeared for the London based club 59 times before his move to the North East. He is adapatable, with the Suriname international able to play both centre back and right back.
Michael Carrick’s side finished just four points off the play-offs this season and remained in the hunt for the top six for much of the campaign. However, a run of four defeats in five games in February and early March would prove to be costly.
The manager himself has been interesting a lot of clubs this season but he was rewarded with a new contract last week, putting pen-to-paper on a three-year deal. It seems that Dijksteel is not in his future plans though as the Teesside-based outfit target a promotion push next season.
Boro already have a battle on their hands to keep certain players and they may struggle to keep hold of top scorer Emmanuel Latte-Lath, who has been in brilliant form this year scoring 16 goals in just 30 appearances.
There has also been a lot of interest in 21-year-old midfielder Hayden Hackney, but Carrick will be hopeful of keeping both men.
Writer’s View
It’s not a surprise to see Middlesbrough wanting to cash in on players who are surplus to requirements, especially given that he has just one year to run on his contract and has only appeared in just under half of the games this season.
With that being said, whoever gets Dijksteel will be getting a defender with plenty of experience in both the Championship and League One and it could prove to be a gamble worth taking.
Boro currently value the defender at around £1 million, according to Transfermarkt, but somebody come in and try to tempt the club with a slightly lower offer given that the player will be able to depart for free next summer.
