Middlesbrough got timing of £3m signing all wrong and he flopped: View | OneFootball

When Middlesbrough signed Argentine midfielder Martin Payero in 2021, it was hoped he would light up the Riverside Stadium for many years to come.

There aren't many corners of the world whose exports have scouts clambering over one another to court them, and get football fans craving an arrival to their club more than South America.

The excitement generated when your team signs a player from the region that breeds flair and skill better than any other on the planet, is unmatched.

And for Teessiders, it raises the pulse just that bit faster, as the greatest era of football the Riverside has ever seen was played to the soundtrack of samba.

But that sound had long left earshot when Middlesbrough agreed a deal to sign Payero from his native Argentina, in the summer of 2021.

Then, 22, Payero made the switch from Argentine top-flight side Banfield, on a three-year deal worth a reported £3m fee.

However, the former Argentina youth international's move to the North East came at the wrong time for him for a multitude of reasons.

Middlesbrough's managerial merry-go-round set tough adapting task

Neil Warnock is one of the most effective managers to ever grace English football, but his teams successes were largely built on being defensively solid, as opposed to playing highly attractive football.

Therefore, when Warnock brought Payero to Middlesbrough, it had the feeling of being more of a club/boardroom signing rather than a managerial one, as he didn't exactly fit the mould of a typical Warnock central midfielder.

Injuries - an unfortunate trademark of his Boro career to come - did prevent Payero from making an instant impact at his new club, however, as he attempted to adapt to life in a totally different environment to that of which he was used to.

Regardless, the former Argentine Olympian wouldn't get much of an opportunity to establish a relationship with his manager, as Warnock departed the club just three months after Payero arrived.

In total, Payero would make only 10 appearances in all competitions under Warnock, whilst being an unused sub on five occasions, as per Transfermarkt.

He would, however, bag his only Middlesbrough goal during this spell, in an away match at Cardiff City.

Chris Wilder saw no room for Payero

As a former Championship promotion winner with Sheffield United, Wilder walked through the door on Teesside the very next day, with big ambitions for himself and the club. Ambitions that Payero would soon discover he would have no role in helping to achieve.

Wilder commonly set up with a midfield three consisting of Matt Crooks, Jonny Howson and Marcus Tavernier, in his complex 3-5-2 system.

This midfield trio was cemented as the spine of the team, and by Wilder's own admission, this was the strongest aspect of his side, and thus saw no reason to change it.

To make matters worse for Payero, a further midfield addition in Riley McGree was made in January 2022, and pushed the youngster - who didn't speak a word of English either - even further down the pecking order.

All in all, Payero would only make five appearances in all competitions for Middlesbrough under Wilder, as per Transfermarkt, despite the Boro boss insisting the Argentine had received opportunities at the Riverside before making a summer loan move back to his homeland with Boca Juniors.

Michael Carrick had already found his man in Hayden Hackney

Upon returning to Teesside after Boca opted against offering Payero a permanent contract, the now 24-year-old linked back up with the Middlesbrough squad for pre-season, with another new face in charge awaiting him.

Once again, however, he returned to a squad that seemingly held no place for him, as the emergence of local youngster Hayden Hackney snatched away what could've been a wide open spot for Payero to take next to Jonny Howson.

Transfermarkt.

Payero would secure a permanent move away in the summer of 2023, to Serie A side Udinese, and in turn, closed a chapter of his career that was woven in frustration, injury setbacks and struggles adapting to life in the North East.

But his Middlesbrough story was also shrouded in unintentionally poor timing, whether that be through the managerial departures and arrivals, finding stalwarts ahead of him impossible to compete with, or by turning up once again to find a star had emerged.

And yet, the plume of mystery and excitement that he arrived with still - somewhat ironically perhaps - holds him down a place in the hearts of many Boro fans, with his 'si senor' chant occasionally still heard among groups of matchday revellers.