Middlesbrough look like contenders to be real dark horses this term.

After a season of struggling under Jonathan Woodgate last season the club appointed Neil Warnock as head coach until the end of the season.

This time around they look like a different animal.

A 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions has sent the Teessiders up to seventh in the Championship and with that in mind it would take a brave person to bet against them finishing in the top six come the end of the season.

Part of their success has been down to the tight-knit group of senior players that Warnock uses.

These players know how to grind out results in the second tier, but we'd be foolish to ignore the talented crop of young players who are knocking on the door to be involved at first team level.

With that in mind here are two academy prospects who could make the step up to first team level over the next 12 months.

Calum Kavanagh

The young forward looks set for an incredibly bright future in the game.

Son of former Middlesbrough star Graham Kavanagh, the 16-year-old signed a scholarship deal over the summer which will see him continue his development at the Riverside Stadium.

Kavanagh is a regular for the under-18s and has also featured for Republic Of Ireland under-17s.

A first team breakthrough may not be imminent, but the feeling is that this is a lad who will certainly make a big splash in the next couple of years.

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Sam Folarin

The 20-year-old is a player who may well be on the cusp of a first team breakthrough.

A player who signed from Tooting & Mitcham in 2019, the speedy winger is a consistent threat for the under-23 side and looks set for a career at first team level.

Folarin made his senior debut for the Teessiders in the EFL Cup in September, and will be hoping to get more opportunities over the course of the season.

A regular place in Warnock's matchday squad seems unlikely right now due to his loyalty to his tight-knit senior group, meaning that a loan move to an EFL club has been touted as a possibility.

With plenty of talent behind him I firmly expect that this season we'll see the breakthrough of Folarin as a real threat in the professional game.