Was this Middlesbrough defender the bargain of the century?

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Middlesbrough full-back George Friend comes from a different background compared to most other Premier League footballers.

The 28-year-old; who earned promotion to the top flight with Boro this campaign, was brought up on a farm in North Devon where his parents specialised in the agricultural industry rather than elite level sport.

Friend, who received a breakthrough move to Wolves in 2008, admitted in an interview with Middlesbrough’s Evening Gazette a few months ago that he didn’t even know who the Midlands club were when he joined them – or any club outside the South West for that matter as he didn’t come from a footballing background.

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Thankfully for Friend, the farm he grew up on had ‘a massive garden’, where he was able to play football – hence his rise to the highest level.

In the end, it didn’t work out at Wolves, where the defender made just seven appearances following a move from conference side Exeter. By his own admission, Friend has since admitted he had ‘a few regrets’ about his time at Molineux, saying:

“I wish I’d grown up a bit more quickly and played more”.

“They are a strong side and it’s a big club, they got 30,000 in League One”.

Friend was sent out on loan to the likes of Millwall , Southend and Scunthorpe before Doncaster snapped him up in 2010.

He went on to make 59 appearances for Rovers before they were relegated from the Championship two years later. However, his performances caught the eye of Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray who captured Friend for reported fee of around £100,000 in the summer of 2012.

Four years later, and the deal has turned out to be one of the bargains of the football league.

If you had asked any Championship fan to name their best eleven this season, Friend’s name would appear in the left-back position more often than not.

In his early days at Boro his main instinct was to attack despite predominately being a defender. He has always been full of energy and a great outlet on the left hand side, although the defensive side of the game did occasionally come under scrutiny against the better sides.

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Even so, the Devon-born defender has been Boro’s first choice left-back for the past four consecutive campaigns, and ever since the arrival of Aitor Karanka in November 2013, Friend has significantly tightened up his the defensive side of his game.

Karanka; an ex-defender himself for Spanish giants Real Madrid, still gives Friend the licence to charge forward on his lung-busting and crowd-pleasing runs. However, there is more of a balance to his game than there was before.

He also appears to be a lot fitter than in his first season on Teesside, when he missed chunks of the season after Christmas with a persistent hamstring injury.

When he arrived four years ago, Friend quickly became a fan’s favourite at the Riverside for his contributions both on and off the field. This year for example, he was named Community Player of the Year at the Football League awards. He played a leading role in a fundraising calendar which helped raise over £12,000 for the families of steelworkers who lost their jobs following the closure of the Redcar works.

Win lose or draw, Friend is often the last player off the pitch applauding the fans, who always give him a warm reception.

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This season, Friend was an influential figure in Boro’s promotion campaign, in which he played 40 league games, while scoring a rare goal in the 2-0 victory over Derby at the Riverside.

In the past two seasons, he has produced gallant and determined performances in cup games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United. He will now get the opportunity to prove himself week in week out at the top level with Boro, who can definitely regard his signing as money well spent.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Dan Westwell