David Strelec’s Middlesbrough struggles and how it can change amid Dimitar Berbatov comparison
David Strelec continues to struggle to find his feet at Middlesbrough after his big-money move in the summer
David Strelec of Middlesbrough(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Amid Middlesbrough’s recent struggle for goals, David Strelec is once again under the microscope at Middlesbrough.
With so much hype around the Slovakian, and with Boro paying a hefty £6.5 million fee in the summer, it’s fair to say there was a great deal of expectation and hope placed on the shoulders of the 24-year-old.
That sky-rocketed when, in the week after he finally joined Boro after a six-month saga, he joined his national team and scored an insane goal against Germany that had everyone on Teesside excited.
However, now 34 games into his first season, it’s fair to say Strelec’s impact so far has been underwhelming. In 20 appearances, the Slovakian international has managed only three Boro goals.
Of course, Boro know only too well that players arriving from foreign countries to the Championship often need time to adapt. Injuries haven’t helped the centre-forward either, particularly his most recent.
Having struggled in Rob Edwards’ more defensive-minded team, Kim Hellberg’s arrival in November brought about a fresh start and a new perspective for Strelec, and all of Boro’s forwards.
He started four of Hellberg’s first six games in charge and managed two goals too, as we finally started to see some promise in the big-money summer signing. Then injury hit and he was forced to miss the next six.
Returning at the end of January, his only start since came in the highly frustrating goalless draw with Oxford United, as Strelec once again failed to hit the heights expected, or needed, of him.
Before arriving, Hellberg described how he did extensive research on his underperforming strikers. Strelec’s injury, he insists now, means he’s still getting back up to speed.
But the Boro boss remains insistent that, looking far more happy and settled of late, Strelec can still have a big impact on Boro’s promotion push with 12 games to go. It would be massive for Boro if he did suddenly find his goalscoring touch.
So how do Boro go about helping Strelec make that a reality? We asked Erik Farkas, who is the football editor at Slovakia’s biggest sports news outlet Sport.SK, and has followed Strelec’s career extensively.
Erik told Teesside Live: “David Strelec is not a classic No. 9. In his early days at Slovan Brotislava, he even played in the number 10 position behind Andraz Sporar.
“His greatest contribution to the team is his link-up play when he drops back from the forward position. He is excellent at combination play and has superb technique.
“In the box and around it, he chooses unconventional solutions (remember how he almost scored from half the pitch against England at EURO 2024). He has unique football intelligence, instincts, great vision of the game, and also good positioning in the box and finishing.
“If you’re interested in who David Strelec is, watch his September match against Germany. That was him at his best. However, he needs the right support for that.
“If he receives high crosses into the box or gets into duels and has to fight for the ball, he will not be effective for the team. He is not the type of striker like Haaland – a predator who demolishes two defenders and tears the net.
“That’s why many were surprised that he went to the physically demanding Championship. He is at his best when he has a partner for link-up play. That’s when David Strelec grows, and so do the players around him.”
Erik added: “He is a bit of a moody striker. When he is in good form and in a good mood, he is a joy to watch, but when he is not okay, he can be completely invisible on the pitch.
“He is not a hard worker who fulfils his defensive duties responsibly or constantly makes runs, which limits him in modern football.
“To exaggerate a little, if Dimitar Berbatov would play in today’s modern football, where he would have to work harder and run more, David Strelec would resemble him.”
While Boro can certainly help Strelec by playing more to his strengths – and you can be assured that Hellberg will be trying to do exactly that – there is another factor to consider, which is evidence of why we shouldn’t yet be writing him off.
It’s really not uncommon for strikers to come to the Championship from abroad and struggle in their first season. Viktor Gyokeres and Emil Riis are very good recent examples.
Their careers may have taken very different paths in the years since, but both are examples of strikers who struggled in their first season only to enjoy stellar second seasons, and ironically becoming Boro targets thereafter.
While Gyokeres had joined Brighton’s academy two years prior, his English football experience was limited when he moved to Swansea City on loan in 2020. Spending half a season there, and half a season at Coventry, he finished his first campaign with just four goals.
Signed permanently by Coventry that summer though, he smashed in 18 goals in 2021/22 and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
Riis’ career may not have taken off in the same way, largely thanks to injury. But his potential was seen in that same season when he netted 20 goals for Preston North End, following on from his first campaign where he managed only three.
Even at Boro, Emmanuel Latte Lath didn’t take to the Championship immediately. That he ended his first season with 18 goals somewhat paints a false narrative of his difficult first year.
In fact, it was at this stage of the season, with 12 games remaining, that the Ivorian really found his feet on Teesside. He’d only netted five goals to this point and, like Strelec, had fitness setbacks along the way.
But with 11 goals in the final 12 games of the season, Latte Lath finished in an emphatic way. He carried that form into the first half of next season before Boro made roughly £18m profit from his sale to Atlanta United – the importance of which was highlighted in the recently-publicised financial accounts.
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Back to Erik. It’s interesting he notes the surprise in Slovakia at Strelec’s decision to move to the Championship, based on his profile.
“Many were surprised and skeptical that he moved to the physically demanding Championship,” Erik says. “Many recalled his unsuccessful spell in Italy, where he went too young and unprepared.
“Now, however, he was ready for the transfer. At EURO 2024, or in the mentioned match against Germany, or in last year’s Champions League, he showed that he was ready for a higher level of football.
“The Championship probably didn’t suit him typologically, and his injuries certainly didn’t help. It is also very important for David Strelc to feel comfortable off the pitch, and to be honest, I don’t know if he found that in the North East of England.
“Unfortunately, the Slovak nature is quite negative and gloating, and many now say that it was inevitable that he would not make it beyond Slovan. However, neither I nor most journalists and experts think so.”
Despite that, Erik, who has paid close attention to his progress at the Riverside, is still backing his countryman. He said: “In Middlesbrough, partly due to injuries, he has not yet had the opportunity to fully adapt. I would give him more time.
“And even if Middlesbrough ends up not being the right fit for him, I am convinced that he will find his place in another football environment. I could imagine him playing for a mid-table team in the German Bundesliga, for example.”
Boro will persevere. It’s no secret how highly the recruitment team rated him, or how much they wanted him. Hellberg, too, is understood to be convinced there’s a star to unlock. Hopefully they’re proven right.
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