Middlesbrough will be thankful they didn't sign Watford, Huddersfield Town flop: View | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town striker Rhys Healey was linked with a summer move to Middlesbrough in 2022, after enjoying a highly impressive season in France's Ligue 2.

Chris Wilder's Boro side were looking for a striker in the summer window of 2022, as loanees Andraz Sporar, Aaron Connoly and Folarin Balogun would be returning to parent clubs Sporting CP, Brighton and Arsenal respectively.

That left Wilder's side perilously thin at the centre-forward position, with youngster Josh Coburn and Uche Ikpeazu being left as Middlesbrough's only senior contracted natural number nine options.

So, when TEAMtalk credited Middlesbrough with an interest in Toulouse striker Healey, alongside Premier League clubs such as Newcastle, West Ham and Crystal Palace, Boro fans understandably were excited at the prospect of his arrival that summer.

However, a move to England failed to materialise for the Welsh forward. Teessiders were disappointed at the time, but on reflection, they'll be thankful their club didn't splash out on him that summer.

Rhys Healey hasn't brought goalscoring form back to England

After scoring 20 goals in 32 Ligue 2 matches, Healey would remain in France for the 2022/23 season, and was ready to take on Ligue 1 with his newly promoted Toulouse side.

But after making just four appearances in the French first division, Healey would suffer a devastating cruciate ligament injury that would see him miss almost the entirety of the season.

Having seen his chance to impress on France's biggest stage cruelly snatched away from him, Healey's contract with Toulouse came to an end in the summer of 2023.

Seeing this as a chance to make a fresh start in his career after three years in France, the then 28-year-old penned a two-year contract with Championship side Watford on a free transfer.

On the face of it, this move looked to have the potential of developing into a really shrewd piece of business by the Hornets, as they took low-risk, high-reward gamble on a player that they knew could score goals.

He'd proven he could find the net consistently in England beforehand too, as his 12 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions for MK Dons during the 2019/20 season are what largely earned him his move to France.

Unfortunately for Watford however, Healey was unable to find his goalscoring rhythm, netting just twice in 11 Championship games over the course of the first half of last season.

In what was a surprising turn of events, Watford decided they'd seen enough, and a permanent exit was sanctioned to Huddersfield Town in January for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Terriers.

It was hoped that Healey could score the necessary number of goals to help steer Huddersfield clear of relegation, but his three goals in 11 Championship appearances weren't enough to save the club from dropping into League One.

Healey looks set to play an important role for Town next season, should he stay fit, in what could be a make-or-break year for the 29-year-old.

Middlesbrough have struck striking gold since failing to land Rhys Healey

Opting against signing Healey in the summer of 2022, Middlesbrough moved on to different targets, before eventually snapping up Marcus Forss on a permanent deal.

The Finland international has proven he knows where the back of the net is, but like Healey, has struggled to keep himself consistently fit and available to his side.

As it turned out though, - and little to anyone's knowledge - Boro had the Championship's future golden boot winner languishing on the fringes of their squad in Chuba Akpom, who bagged 28 goals during the 2022/23 season.

Cameron Archer would also be added to the ranks in January 2023, with his 11 goals in 22 league matches in four months for Boro being double what Healey has returned since his move back to English football, in the same amount of games.

And it would be last summer when Boro's latest goalscoring phenomenon Emmanuel Latte Lath would arrive on Teesside, scoring 16 times in 30 Championship appearances last season.

So despite Healey not being a bad player, his move to Middlesbrough may well have come as somewhat of a waste of what would've been sizeable money in 2022, as Akpom's exploits, Forss' presence and Latte Lath's goals would've all made Healey's path to playing time extremely difficult.