Middlesbrough have released their retained list for the 2018/19 season.

The first season back in the Championship finished in disappointment for Boro because they were unable to achieve promotion after losing 1-0 to Aston Villa in the play-off semi-finals.

However, Tony Pulis has only been in charge since December, so it wasn't a bad first season for him considering the circumstances.

They will be aiming to build on this season, though, so the retained list is an important indicator of the extent of the changes needed.

According to the official Middlesbrough site, senior players Martin Cranie and Tomas Mejias are being released as free agents by the club.

Cranie was brought in during the January transfer window with a short contract in order to act as cover for Ryan Shotton after Cyrus Christie was sold.

Mejias has been at the club since 2014, but he only made 18 appearances for the club, with eight being in the league, because he acted as back-up.

The Verdict

Both of these were just squad players this season and were rarely used, so the decision to let them go makes sense because it helps reduce the wage budget.

However, another right-back is needed, so that should be one of the priorities in the summer. Although, it's likely that they have a move lined up considering how short this would leave them otherwise.

Pulis is clearly aiming to make the team more streamlined with finances potentially playing a part in that even though they do have parachute payments to help them. It will be interesting to see how much business they do in the summer because this is a strong squad, and should only need a few tweaks to improve it.