Flying Finn: Is Middlesbrough's Azaz the Championship's Next Young Star?

There was once a time in which English top-flight clubs didn’t have their scouts out in Europe, South America and other hotbeds of football talent. 

Instead, they would focus their hunt for new players either internally (promoting from reserve or youth teams), or by looking lower down the pyramid for lower league gems.

Of course, access to a global talent network means that Premier League clubs often overlook the raw potential of players in the Championship and below, but there’s no doubt that there’s still some excellent recruitment to be done in the second tier.

And the latest cab off the rank appears to be Middlesbrough’s Irish star, Finn Azaz.

Making It Happen

At the time of writing this article, with 28 weeks of the Championship season gone, only one player (Tom Fellows) had assisted more goals than Azaz, while only one player (Borja Sainz) had delivered more goal involvements for their team than Middlesbrough’s 24-year-old.

And so there’s a clear argument that says that Azaz is the most impactful player in the second tier… not bad, considering that as recently as 2022, he was still plying his trade in League Two.

That was a revelatory spell on loan at Newport County, in which the number ten was named Young Player of the Season and named in the Team of the Year.

After signing for Middlesbrough from Aston Villa in January 2024, Azaz got a brief look at the Championship last term (nine goal involvements in 15 starts), but it’s this 2024/25 season in which he has proven his class at the level.

As well as his eight goals and nine assists, Azaz has created 57 goalscoring chances in 27 games, with eight of those classed by OPTA as ‘Big Chances’. It’s perhaps no surprise that Emmanuel Latte Lath, who typically leads the line for Middlesbrough as the key outlet for Azaz’s probing, ranks fourth in the Championship in terms of chances missed.

At each level of the English football pyramid, Azaz has adjusted to the requirements of the game and thrived, while most eye-catchingly he has saved his best work for the Championship. This confirms that he has the technical ability to make the jump up in class. 

Surely it’s only a matter of time before he’s stepping up in grade to the Premier League… with Boro or somebody else.

The Missing Link

Typically the Middlesbrough head coach favours a variation of 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formations, with Azaz the vital cog as the link man between midfield and attack.

He often receives the ball in uncomfortable areas, with opposition midfielder’s all around him. His ability to thrive in such circumstances confirms Azaz’s technical ability. He is often seen to deploy a smooth first touch followed by movement to find pockets of space. His bravery and confidence in his own ability are also visible in abundance.

Often, football has associated ‘brave’ players as those willing to get stuck in and put their head where it hurts, but it also takes bravery to receive the ball when well marked; not to mention courage to try defence-splitting passes or take an opponent on in a one-vs-one situation.

That is perhaps the greatest gift at Azaz’s disposal: the confidence to try to unlock games, which is aided and abetted by his technical skillset to be able to pull it off. His goal involvements tally provides clear evidence of this. 

He has benefitted from growing up in some excellent football finishing schools. Aston Villa have brought many an exciting talent in recent seasons, while Carrick himself is developing a reputation as a fine developer of players, turning the raw and the inexperienced into stars capable of thriving at Championship level and beyond.

Azaz has also benefitted from success wherever he’s been. Loan spells at Cheltenham Town and Plymouth Argyle saw title wins in League Two and League One respectively, so promotion with Boro would complete a unique hat-trick for a player still nine months shy of his 25th birthday. 

It’s no coincidence that silverware has followed Azaz already in his young career. Can he bring more to Middlesbrough… or will he signed by a Premier League side on the next leg of his upward journey?

Future Proof

Boro are an attractive proposition for young players, with Carrick committed to a fluid, attacking style in which possession of the football is favoured.

It’s a system that has brought the Teesiders relative success in recent years. They currently occupy the play-off places at the time of writing, while helping to ‘future proof’ their players. The technical style demanded by Carrick is very much en-vogue in the Premier League right now, too.

The Boro rank sixth in the Championship for possession, first for touches in their opponents’ box and second for both goals scored and shots on target per 90 minutes. Why wouldn’t Azaz, and the likes of Ben Doak, Riley McGree and Hayden Hackney, want to be part of that?

The successes of Carrick at Middlesbrough are testament to the loyalty shown by owner Steve Gibson, who has allowed the head coach to blossom at the club while taking away some of the pressures of promotion… for former Premier League clubs, a win-at-all-costs mentality can often pervade, which in turn hampers long term prosperity.

Carrick has been allowed to fail, which in turn has afforded him the opportunity to stay true to his tactical beliefs and football philosophy… while taking a punt on players from the lower levels, like Azaz.

One of the best attacking sides in the Championship, Middlesbrough may need to find gains defensively if they are to be promoted this term. They concede an average of 1.2 goals per game, have kept just nine clean sheets and rank just 15th for possession won back in the final third of the pitch… suggesting that their pressing is awry, or that Carrick his happy for his players to be passive in getting the ball back.

Of the ten players that have featured in the most Championship minutes for Middlesbrough this term, four are aged 24 or under, while the likes of Latte Lath and Dael Fry are perhaps hitting their peak at 26 and 27 respectively.

It may be a case of now or never for Boro in terms of promotion… with Azaz, a title-winning specialist in their side, anything is possible. 

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