Middlesbrough have had their fair share of talent pass through the academy and go on to have sterling careers at all levels of football.

Right now, Neil Warnock has plenty of the club’s academy products at his disposal, but you can bet he wishes he had a handful of the impressive players that have gone before.

Over the years, there’s been the likes of Stewart Downing and Lee Cattermole pass through the Boro academy, whilst now it is the Dael Fry’s of this world that are excelling at the Riverside Stadium.

So, how would you rank the following 10 players that have progressed out of the Boro academy?

Some will agree, some will disagree and, on the whole, it makes a fantastic debate.

We take it on…

After passing through the Boro academy, Graham made his senior debut for Darlington whilst on loan with the club.

However, he was soon back at the Riverside and made his Boro debut in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in October 2004.

His first goal for the club came in February of 2005, but a series of loan spells were still on the horizon for the striker before he departed for Watford.

Graham would return to Boro on loan in 2014 and score six goals, but his best football did come elsewhere.

Nevertheless, 617 appearances across his career and 174 goals mean he was a fairly good product of the Boro academy.

Reach’s first appearance for Boro came towards the back end of the 2010/11 season, with the midfielder scoring in a 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.

Loans to Darlington, Shrewsbury Town, Bradford City and Preston North End followed, with Reach eventually clocking 78 appearances for the Teessiders before moving on.

Sheffield Wednesday was Reach’s destination, with the versatile midfielder still going strong in the Championship with the Owls.

He’s made 199 Championship and play-off appearances for Wednesday since making the move to South Yorkshire. A further 20 appearances have come in the FA Cup and League Cup, with Reach really establishing himself since joining the Owls.

Jerome is a lot like Graham in that he’s had a very decent career away from Middlesbrough, despite passing through the club’s academy.

The striker’s first spell away from Boro came at Cardiff City, with the towering striker clocking seven goals in his debut season.

In total, after leaving Boro, Jerome featured for Cardiff, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Derby County and Goztepe. Now, he’s on the books with MK Dons and has 10 goals to his name in League One this season.

Over the course of his career, Jerome has made 616 appearances and scored 150 goals.

The 30-year-old continues to go strong in the Championship with Cardiff City, but right back at the start of his career he was with Middlesbrough.

Between 2008 and 2012, Bennett made 92 appearances for the Teessiders, with his potential and talent catching the eye of Aston Villa.

Bennett got his chance at Villa Park, as well as having loans with Brighton and Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday.

He moved to Cardiff in 2016 and hasn’t looked back.

Bennett has made 177 appearances for the Bluebirds and has managed to forge a really good career since leaving Middlesbrough for Villa Park all those years ago.

We move onto a current member of the Boro squad now, Dael Fry.

Fry debuted for Boro in 2015 and made eight appearances in 2015/16 for the club.

The following season he had a stint on loan with Rotherham United, but Fry’s true development would come on Teesside.

At the still very young age of 23, Fry has made 136 appearances for the club already.

Warnock’s defence has looked a lot more impressive with Fry than without him this season, with the centre-back passing 30 appearances in all competitions at this stage of 2020/21.

He will hope that in the years to come, he can work his way up this sort of list.

A lot like the likes of Graham and Jerome, Brunt’s career highlights all came away from the Riverside Stadium despite passing through the Middlesbrough academy right at the start of his time in professional football.

A loan with Sheffield Wednesday became permanent, with Brunt going on to make over 100 appearances for the Owls.

However, Brunt’s career would really take off with West Bromwich Albion.

In total, the midfielder made 421 appearances for the Baggies and scored 48 goals. He played in the Premier League and has been an stalwart on the international scene for Northern Ireland.

It might not have come with the club he started his career with, but Brunt has enjoyed a great time as a player.

Most recently, he’s been with Bristol City.

Morrison started his career with Middlesbrough and was a really classy midfielder.

After breaking through onto the scene at Boro, Morrison made 97 appearances for the club.

That included helping Boro to the UEFA Cup final, where Morrison started as the Teessiders’ memorable European journey ended in disappointment and a 4-0 loss to Sevilla.

Like Brunt, Morrison moved on to West Brom, making 341 appearances for the club and playing a long stint in the Premier League with the Baggies.

Again, his best years weren’t on Teesside, but there’s no denying that Morrison was a success after progressing out of the Boro academy.

In terms of talent, Gibson is right up there when it comes to progressing out of the Middlesbrough academy.

The Boro lad had loans with Plymouth, York and Tranmere, but it was at the Riverside Stadium where his talent was thriving in his early years.

In total, Gibson made 203 appearances for Boro, winning promotion and excelling in the Premier League in 2016/17 despite relegation.

Burnley was his destination after Boro, but he struggled to make his mark at Turf Moor and is now back in the Championship with league leaders, Norwich City.

Gibson is the standard for players like Fry. If the current Boro centre-back can match his feats, he will go a long way.

Cattermole hasn’t half the talent that some players lower in this list have, but he’s pitched quite high here because of his longevity in the game.

The midfielder started out with Boro and made 91 appearances for the club after storming out of the academy.

He’d then spend 2008/09 with Wigan Athletic, before moving on to Sunderland and back to the North East.

At the Stadium of Light, Cattermole would make over 250 appearances for Sunderland and play for them at a host of levels.

Cattermole has had a spell with VVV Venelo and continues to be remembered for his tough tackling and patchy discipline record.

Downing tops this list.

He burst onto the scene out of the Boro academy and, minus a brief stint on loan with Sunderland, was straight into the first-team.

234 appearances came in that first spell for Boro, with Downing then moving on to Aston Villa, Liverpool and West Ham United in the next period of his career, as well as playing for England.

The midfielder would return to Boro in 2015 and help them to promotion, before getting another shot in the Premier League.

That second spell for Boro brought him another 170 appearances for his boyhood club.

He tops this list not because of his talent alone, but also because of what he gave back to Boro in the way of 404 appearances.