Yesterday, Middlesbrough announced the signing of Marcus Forss from Brentford in a deal worth £3m.
The Finland international has signed a four-year contract on Teeside, but if things had turned out differently, the 23-year-old could’ve been playing at a much higher level.
What’s the story?
Well, if you travelled forward in time from 2020 to now, you would think Chris Wilder had just pulled off a major coup.
Back then, Tottenham wanted to sign Forss, who was making a big impact at Brentford.
The Finnish forward earned comparisons to Jamie Vardy as a result of his efficiency in front of goal and desire to run the channels, traits which also attracted the attention of West Ham in 2019.
Above all, interest from Borussia Dortmund in 2020 proved that the Bees had a special player on their hands.
The German giants love investing in precocious talent, such as Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.
Therefore, the fact they felt Forss was worth bringing to the Bundesliga speaks volumes.
Now, after he found chances hard to come by in the Premier League behind Ivan Toney, Middlesbrough have the chance to restore the Turku-born striker.
Despite a lack of game time under Thomas Frank last season, Forss still managed to score seven goals in all competitions, while also providing three assists.
Middlesbrough could have a gem on their hands
Clearly, Forss has a lot of potential, which he was unable to realise at Brentford – in truth, promotion to the Premier League probably came at the wrong time and hampered his development.
However, he is clearly a talented striker, and sometimes, it just takes a different environment to help a player kickstart his career.
In our view, Middlesbrough is the perfect place to do that.
There are many talented players already at the Riverside Stadium, and with Wilder in charge, the pieces are there to mount a promotion push.
Hopefully, Forss can get his career back on track after leaving Brentford.
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