Where George Friend's departure leaves Middlesbrough in the transfer market after Birmingham City switch

The long-serving defender moved to Teesside in the summer of 2012, was a key part of Boro’s 2015/16 promotion side and became an influential figure both on and off the pitch.

His move to Birmingham City really does appear to mark the end of an era at the Riverside, especially as former team-mates Daniel Ayala and Adam Clayton, who amassed nearly 13 more years at Boro between them, have also departed

Yet unlike Ayala and Clayton, Friend, 32, was very much in manager Neil Warnock’s plans for next season.

Despite an injury-hit 2019/20 campaign, the defender proved his fitness and ability in Boro’s final eight matches after Warnock came in.

A switch from left-back to centre-back showed Friend still had something to offer at the Riverside, and the 32-year-old could regularly be heard shouting instructions to his team-mates in empty, echoey stadiums.

His performances earned him a new contract at Boro, yet the extra security of a two-year deal, with a further one-year option, at Birmingham provided extra security.

Boro clearly weren’t willing to offer such a lengthy contract to a 32-year-old who made just 14 league appearances last term.

That is understandable - no matter a player’s previous achievements, there’s always a time to move on.

Yet the current transfer market is proving a tricky place to do business.

“For some reason nobody wants to do business at this stage and everyone thinks they can get more money, it's difficult,” said Warnock last week.

And despite making a strong start to the window by bringing in former QPR captain Grant Hall, Boro now have less than three weeks before their opening game in the Carabao Cup first round.

Warnock said at the end of last season, he needed five or six players to strengthen the squad this summer – that was probably assuming Friend would stay.

At present, Hall and Dael Fry are Boro’s only centre-back options with significant Championship experience, ahead of teenager Nathan Wood and Sam Stubbs.

It’s far from ideal as the squad returns to pre-season training this week, last season’s captain no longer among them.

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