Former Swindon Town defender Harley Hunt is making a big impression at Middlesbrough as he is frequently involved with Michael Carrick’s first team.

A breakout season in Town’s under-18s led to plenty of interest over the summer, The Adver was aware of interest from multiple clubs in the top two tiers, before he joined Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £500,000 with an additional £1 million in add-ons by the Daily Mail.

Despite joining their under-18s, a report from The Northern Echo has said he has quickly bypassed that team to play with their under-21s.

 

 

Carrick said he had made “a big impression” since arriving at The Riverside, being named on the bench in seven of their nine Championship matches and playing all 90 minutes on his debut against Stoke City in the Carabao Cup.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, academy boss Craig Liddle said of Hunt: "He's been fantastic.

"Harley has come in and he's a really quiet boy but confident in his own ability in a good way.

"He's done fantastic. In the 21s he's been a real leader for someone so young. He's bypassed the 18s and gone straight in with the 21s. He's obviously trained with the first team and looked comfortable but there are still areas of his game we need to work on to help him hopefully become a regular in our first team.

"As long as he's getting the correct training environment and enough match minutes to get him topped up and ready, it's whether we think a loan is better in January or is he better off developing here and getting match minutes. Kieran and Michael will make that call."

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When The Adver spoke to Sean Wood about what he has been able to accomplish, he said it has been bitter-sweet to watch.

He said: “I signed Harley at under-15s and had two years with him pre-scholar and at under-16s we could see the progression he made to be at under-18s within a year.

“At the time it was Lee Peacock as under-18s manager and there was a time where he didn’t want to play football, so as a staff we got around him and made him feel welcome.

“All of a sudden it clicked, he was enjoying his football and felt part of the programme and then you see his development kick on in his first year as a scholar.

“He was playing games in the first team and you feel he is getting close and feel proud of the journey.

“It was great to see him make his debut and then he has the opportunity to move to a Championship club, and you have to be proud of the small part you played in his development.

“To be on the bench every week for Middlesbrough and get his football in the under-21s is great.

“It will be interesting to see where he can get to and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is around an England Under-19s squad soon.”