RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Fans of the MLS and the USMNT may be paying closer attention to one English team in the Championship once their season kicks off later this month.
Middlesbrough, who play in the second tier of English football alongside Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s Wrexham, have been using America to strengthen their team as they aim to push for promotion to the Premier League.
They could have as many as five ex-MLS stars in their starting eleven come 2026/27, and this has prompted Alexi Lalas to now dub them ‘Middlesmerica’.
Photo by Trevor Wilkinson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Alexi Lalas calls Middlesbrough ‘Middlesmerica’
Back in 2022, Middlesbrough signed versatile midfielder Riley McGree from Charlotte.
Two years later, Aidan Morris left Columbus Crew to link up with the English club.
Then, after agreeing to a transfer earlier in the year, centre-back Adilson Malanda joined Boro from Charlotte at the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, in the current 2026 summer transfer window, Middlesbrough have already secured the services of USMNT ace Sebastian Berhalter from Vancouver Whitecaps.
They are now closing in on another American addition, with it reported that ‘Middlesbrough is finalising a deal to sign USMNT wingback Max Arfsten from the Columbus Crew’.
This will be the third US player to join the Championship club since 2024, which prompted Lalas to give them the aforementioned nickname in response:
If any MLS fans want to watch their league’s former players in action, Boro are playing Wrexham in a Carabao Cup game on August 7.
They will then kick off their Championship campaign against Lincoln City on Saturday, August 15.
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