Kim Hellberg believes Leo Castledine is ready to show what he is really capable of at Middlesbrough after the midfielder scored twice in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Espanyol. With Wrexham up next in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Friday night, Castledine has suddenly become one of the more interesting options in Hellberg's squad.
That is not a surprise if you have tracked his short time at the club. Castledine joined Middlesbrough from Chelsea in January, but his first six months were badly interrupted by injury issues and he managed only one Championship start. The encouraging part for Boro is that those problems were resolved before the end of last season, and he has now completed a full summer of pre-season without injury.
Hellberg: 'There's a lot of potential in this boy'
Hellberg has been clear about what he sees in the 20-year-old. He said Castledine has a lot of potential, can play in a lot of positions and looks, in effect, like a new player for the club after such a stop-start beginning.
The Boro boss also pointed to the way Castledine has built into the summer. He said it was unlucky with him in terms of the injury, but that he worked very hard during the break and that everyone at the club knows his main quality around the box is scoring goals.
That quality was on show against Espanyol. Hellberg praised the first finish as brilliant and the header for the second goal as a good header, which is exactly the kind of contribution Middlesbrough will want if Castledine is going to turn pre-season promise into competitive value.
Why this matters for Middlesbrough
The wider point is that Castledine gives Middlesbrough another attacking option at a time when the season is about to begin in earnest. Hellberg's comments suggest he is not just viewing him as a squad player, but as someone who can influence games in more than one role.
For a player who was restricted to one Championship start in his first six months at the club, that is a significant shift. If he can stay fit, the coming weeks should tell Middlesbrough whether his pre-season form was a useful sign of things to come or simply a bright spell before the real tests begin.
Friday night against Wrexham will provide that first competitive answer.
