Middlesbrough were undisputed winners of £3.5m Bournemouth transfer | OneFootball

Lee Tomlin left Boro to sign for Premier League Bournemouth in 2015, but his Cherries career would crown the Teessiders as the winners of the deal...

Middlesbrough sold Lee Tomlin to Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in August 2015, but his short-lived career with the Cherries would ensure that Boro would be proclaimed the obvious winners of the transfer.

Having just played a starring role in a Middlesbrough side that narrowly missed out on Premier League promotion in the 2014/15 season, Tomlin decided to cash in on his bumper campaign by sealing a move to the top-flight.

Swapping the North East for the South Coast, the attacking midfielder signed for Bournemouth in a deal worth a reported £3m initially, with an additional £500,000 in add-ons.

It looked like a win for both clubs, with Middlesbrough banking a healthy fee and solid profit on a player they'd signed for £1.5m just 18 months prior, and the Cherries bagged a dynamic and creative midfielder who had shown he was ready to test himself in the Premier League.

However, his Bournemouth career wouldn't go to plan, and thus left no doubt which club were the real winners of the deal...

Lee Tomlin enjoys excellent Middlesbrough career

Having spent the previous four seasons starring for Peterborough United, Tomlin initially signed for Middlesbrough on a Deadline Day loan in January 2014, before quickly making his switch to Teesside a permanent one just weeks later.

Middlesbrough's side were lacking the presence of a real creative cog through the middle of the pitch at that time, and having registered multiple double-digit scoring seasons for Posh, Boro hoped he would bring that spark of ingenuity with him to the Riverside.

Luckily for them, that's exactly what he did. In the second half of the 2013/14 season, Tomlin would score four goals in 14 Championship appearances; a solid enough start, but his best days in a Boro shirt were still ahead of him.

In his and head coach Aitor Karanka's first full season at the club, Tomlin would cement himself as an integral part of the starting XI, providing 10 goals and nine assists in 50 total appearances.

A wonderfully gifted player with the ball at his feet, Tomlin's technique and skill dazzled the Riverside crowds all season long, and he was the architect behind some brilliant and memorable Middlesbrough goals.

Whether it was long-ranged beauties, sublime free-kicks or going on mazy runs before finding the net, Tomlin could hurt opposition defences at a moment's notice and in a variety of ways.

On his day, he simply glided across the pitch, looking like it was nothing more than a game in the park for him. Strangely enough, he's perhaps most well remembered on Teesside for a miss that was preceded by an outrageous piece of individual brilliance.

It took place on a cold afternoon in late January 2015 at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, as Karanka's side took on the Premier League champions in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.

Albert Adomah rolled the ball towards Tomlin, who had to pump the brakes on his forward run in order to collect the ball. With one continuous sweep of his left boot, he dragged the ball from behind him and seamlessly past City defender Vincent Kompany, which took him clean through on goal inside the box.

Shooting with the outside of his right boot, his effort had City goalkeeper Willy Caballero completely beaten, but the ball struck the inside of the post before racing across the line and out for a goal kick.

Tomlin fails to carve out a meaningful role with Bournemouth

His Premier League chance vanishes

Boro would finish fourth in the Championship in the 2014/15 season, setting up a two-legged play-off semi-final against Brentford, and Boro won the first leg away at Griffin Park 2-1 thanks to an added-time winner from Fernando Amorebieta.

It would be a far more stress-free 90 minutes in the second-leg for Middlesbrough, however, as thanks to a goal and an assist from Tomlin, Karanka's men booked their place in the play-off final with a 3-0 win over the Bees.

However, they wouldn't get their fairytale ending at Wembley Stadium, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Norwich City, damning them to another season of Championship football.

For Tomlin, the time was right to pursue a Premier League move, and Bournemouth granted him that opportunity in August 2015. However, come January 2016, he was shipped out on loan back to the Championship, signing for Bristol City.

He would make that switch to Ashton Gate a permanent one in the summer of 2016, calling time on his Cherries career just one-year after signing for them. Tomlin would make just six Premier League appearances and a further four in cup competitions for Bournemouth.

Middlesbrough may not have regretted Tomlin exit

He may well have though

With Tomlin now gone, Boro had to ensure that his goals and attacking creativity was adequately replaced.

Middlesbrough brought back one of their finest homegrown talents and club legend Stewart Downing on a permanent deal from West Ham United, whilst also adding forward players David Nugent, Cristhian Stuani and Diego Fabbrini in the summer window of 2015.

Come the closing of the winter transfer window, Karanka's men sat inside the automatic promotion spots, and with the further additions of Jordan Rhodes, Julien De Sart, Kike Sola and Gaston Ramirez during the January window of 2016, Boro bolstered their attacking ranks ahead of their push for the Premier League.

After sealing automatic promotion at the Riverside on the final day of the season, Middlesbrough were back in the top-flight for the 2016/17 campaign, just one year after Tomlin's departure.

Hindsight always wins, and so jumping at the chance to play in the Premier League when Bournemouth came calling was an opportunity that you can't blame Tomlin for taking.

However, there is perhaps a part of him that wishes he'd stayed on Teesside for just one more season, as if he had, he could've played a key role in helping the club during their promotion-winning campaign.