After completing his permanent departure from Middlesbrough to return to Blackpool, Hayden Coulson has expressed his desire for stability.
Late on Thursday night, Coulson finalized his transfer from Boro to Blackpool and agreed to a three-year deal at Bloomfield Road, where he had been on loan for the second half of the previous campaign. The amount that Boro has been paid is not disclosed.
“I’m really happy to be back,” Coulson said on the Blackpool website after the relocation was completed. I knew I wanted to return here permanently after having such a great time here the previous season. A small amount of stability is beneficial. The players, staff, and fans have shown me a lot of support, and I want to do everything in my power to return the favor.
The Gateshead-born full-back, who graduated from Boro’s academy, has had difficulty getting into games on Teesside since his breakout season under Jonathan Woodgate. He was benched for the entire 2020–21 season and then saw three loan stints over the following two seasons because he was not a favorite of Chris Wilder or Neil Warnock.
Given that his contract was up at the end of the 2022–2023 season, the latter match at Aberdeen was anticipated to be the last of his career with Boro. But plans changed when Boro’s management changed during the season, with Woodgate returning as his assistant and Michael Carrick taking over as the new manager.
Last summer, Coulson was given a new two-year deal at Boro, with the possibility of an additional year’s extension. He was then given the chance to impress Carrick and try to re-enter Boro’s thinking throughout the preseason.
Nevertheless, he only made three appearances during the season’s opening stretch before Alex Bangura and Lukas Engel joined, and in January, Coulson was loaned to League One’s Blackpool. Even though the amount they now receive for selling him is not anticipated to be large, it is still a sum of money for a player who, just a year ago, appeared destined to leave for nothing.
