How Neil Warnock has altered Middlesbrough's transfer and recruitment policy as Boro eye second summer signing

At 71, Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock still prefers to take a hands-on approach as he works with the club’s recruitment team to rebuild a competitive squad ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

Warnock will ultimately have a big say in the players who come in and played a significant part in the signing of centre-back Grant Hall last week, as well as the decision to offer George Friend and Marvin Johnson new contracts.

Yet in an unpredictable market due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Boro boss is trying to make the most of the club’s recruitment department, as the Teessiders scour the market for players who will fit the bill.

After 40 years of management, Warnock has plenty of contacts to call upon, but appreciates the landscape has changed since his early days in the dugout.

When asked by the Mail whether he or the club’s recruitment staff will identify players to sign, Warnock replied: “It’s a bit of both. They obviously look at the European market, which you have to do. Predominantly France, the odd Spanish player.

“I had Victor Camarasa from Real Betis at Cardiff, a very good player, so I’ve spoken to his agent to see what he can recommend in that market.

“I think you’ve all got your contacts. I’ve told them what I’m looking for in certain positions and they will look at the European market to come up with names.

“And we will look at them in depth. We won’t look at the clips they send us because the clips are always the best parts.

“We look at full games and the lads cut it down and make clips so instead of me looking at a 90 minute game, I will watch a player every time he’s near the ball during that 90 minutes so you can sift through the mistakes as well as the good things that they do.

“In the past you went out and watched the players in games but that’s impossible in this current situation.”

Warnock has been at Boro just over a month now, though it may feel a lot longer after battling to avoid relegation from the Championship last season.

When he was initially brought in, the Yorkshireman’s primary task was simply to keep the club up, preventing the unthinkable scenario of relegation to League One.

During the final games of the 2019/20 campaign, Warnock held meetings with Boro staff about potential signings and says they are quickly gaining a better understanding of everyone’s roles.

“It’s been great for me because every agent that’s rung me, I’ve just given them the recruitment guy’s number and they’re ringing him,” added Warnock when asked about his relationship with Boro’s recruitment team.

“Half my summer is spent talking to agents, and at my age, if you don’t write down the name of the player and the agent, within five minutes another one is ringing and you’ve forgotten what the first one said! It’s a bloody nightmare.

“The recruitment guys are looking at all the players we’ve been recommending, and then putting them into categories of what we’re looking for.

“I think now we’re getting to know each other and what we want," he added. "The other day, we were working together from 10 in the morning to half past seven at night, which is not my idea of a good day.

“But we eliminated quite a lot and got a shortlist of defenders we’re looking at and midfield players we’re looking at, and we’ve got to push on with that now.”

Yet there are still times when Warnock will have disagreements over players, with many clubs now looking at statistics and data when assessing potential signings.

During an hour-long press conference via Zoom on Tuesday, one of the highlights was when Warnock was talking about transfer targets, particularly a couple of players who had emerged on Boro’s radar.

“It’s like baking a cake I think,” said Warnock when describing the club’s transfer strategy and the people involved. “You’ve got to put all the ingredients into that and then make sure you mix it correctly before you put it into the oven.

“We’re a little bit like that. We have good people doing good jobs in recruitment – full-time as well, and I’ve never experienced that before with so many full-time people on recruitment.

“But at the end of the day, what they might think are the attributes of a defender, I might not. We had a disagreement last week. The stats showed these two players were the best in Europe at defending against one-versus-ones, but within 20 seconds of seeing each one, I said, ‘I’m sorry, but they can’t defend’.

“Stats can be misleading, although they do help you to lower the numbers because, as you can imagine, every agent is trying to push their players at the moment.”

It’s fair to say Boro’s recruitment in recent years has been patchy at best, while a failure to complete deals left former head coach Jonathan Woodgate short of options last summer.

Whether Warnock’s input can make a significant difference remains to be seen, yet the Boro boss has made it clear he isn’t at the club to try and finish mid-table.

After several departures at the end of last season, this summer’s transfer market carries great significance for the Teessiders under their new manager.

It’s an area they will have to get right to achieve his aspirations.

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