2 Premier League targets that should be on Middlesbrough's radar this week | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at two Premier League loan deals Middlesbrough could look to complete before the transfer window shuts.

Middlesbrough have enjoyed a strong summer transfer window so far, but they could look to the Premier League to put the bow on their summer business before the window shuts.

Boro have welcomed a host of new faces to the Riverside Stadium this summer, with the likes of Delano Burgzorg, Aidan Morris, Micah Hamilton and Tommy Conway all making permanent moves to Teesside.

With the club looking to conclude one or two final pieces of business before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month, now might be the time for Boro to dip into the Premier League loan market.

Now that the top-flight season is underway, managers of those 20 sides will have a much clearer picture in regard to who is in their first team plans, and who isn't, with the end of the window always rife with opportunities to poach a Premier League gem.

Football League World takes a look at two Premier League loan deals that Middlesbrough should explore in the remaining days of the transfer window.

James Hill - Bournemouth

Middlesbrough's right-back positions may appear to be sorted for the 2024/25 season, with Luke Ayling, Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel all presenting as proven Championship commodities.

But, once you start scratching below the surface of that crop of options, Boro's right-back spot may not be as secure as one might think.

For starters, both Ayling and Smith are a couple of years on the wrong side of 30, and the latter is yet to recover from a ruptured Achilles that ended his 2023/24 season in October, and only have two and one-years remaining on their respective Middlesbrough contracts.

As for Dijksteel, like Smith, he is also only contracted at the football club until the end of the season, and is a player that Boro have reportedly been looking to sell this summer.

Therefore, with recent significant injuries and contracts running out, the long-term future of Middlesbrough's right-back position is far from clear. Step forward Bournemouth's James Hill.

Hill, 22, is only just getting his career started, but he's already shown how far he can go in the future. Plucked from Fleetwood Town by the Cherries in January 2022, the England youth international has been growing his reputation in the game ever since.

Having already made a handful of first team appearances for Bournemouth, the right-back enjoyed a highly impressive loan spell in the first half of last season with Blackburn Rovers, where he quickly established himself as a key player in the side.

Comfortable operating as a centre-back too, in 18 Championship appearances Hill was able to score one goal, and register three assists as he highlighted his ability to contribute in attack - a trait that Carrick demands from his full-backs.

Unsurprisingly, Blackburn reportedly hold an interest in bringing him back to Ewood Park again this summer, but Boro should look to beat them to the punch.

Signing Hill on an initial loan with an option/obligation to buy would be an excellent piece of business for Boro, as not only would it provide strong, youthful competition for Ayling this season, signing him up on a permanent deal further down the line would have the potential to secure their right-back spot beyond 2024/25.

Oliver Scarles - West Ham United

Middlesbrough were handed a significant blow on the eve of the new season, as 2023 summer signing Alex Bangura was confirmed as having surgery to fix an Achilles injury, meaning he'd be sidelined for some time.

That meant that Carrick's left-back depth would now only consist of Lukas Engel, and teenage academy graduate George McCormick, as Boro appear to have been forced into the market to shore up that part of his squad.

One potential candidate who could do exactly that is West Ham starlet Oliver Scarles. An England youth international, Scarles may only be 18, but he's proven that he's mature beyond his years from his time with the Hammers.

Having been with the club since the age of 11, Scarles had been shining in West Ham's academy for a number of years before he was handed his senior debut at just 16, in a Europa Conference League tie against Romanian side FCSB in 2022.

After continuing to impress in the Hammers' youth system since then, Scarles suffered a fracture in his back earlier this year that kept him sidelined for five months, from which he has now recovered from.

Speaking in a recent interview with the club website on his recovery and what he can offer as a player, Scarles said: “I got injured in March and that’s given me a chance to build myself up physically and I think I’ve done a good job of that. I’ve had a lot of time to be able to put on a bit of muscle and that’s going to help me in my career and on the pitch as well.

“I think I’ve got a good left foot, showed when I made my debut that I’ve got good crossing ability and am not afraid to be positive and do positive things with the ball, so that’s what I hope to do on the pitch.

“At the minute, I’ve obviously just come back from injury, so it’s about getting in front of the new head coach and make sure I try and impress him as much as I can in training and in any pre-season minutes that I get to then hopefully be part of the squad and get minutes here and there in the season.”

Comfortable playing in any role down the left flank, Scarles fits the bill of an attacking left-back that Carrick so desires in his Middlesbrough squad, and looks to be an ideal player for West Ham to send out on loan in the EFL this season.