Neil Warnock was spot on with his prediction for £1.1m Middlesbrough FC signing | OneFootball

Matt Crooks signed for Middlesbrough in 2021, and Warnock would be proven correct in his prediction for how his Boro career would pan out...

Middlesbrough signed Rotherham United midfielder Matt Crooks in the summer of 2021, and Boro boss Neil Warnock got his prediction spot on for how his Riverside career would pan out.

Boro paid a reported fee of £1.1m to bring the towering midfielder to the Riverside Stadium in July 2021, having spent two-and-a-half fruitful years with the Millers.

The 27-year-old penned a three-year deal with the Teessiders, having just recorded an impressive individual season for a Rotherham side that would suffer relegation from the Championship in 2020/21, but had still seen him bag six goals and three assists.

What Crooks would go on to achieve as a Middlesbrough player over the next few years would see him leave a legacy as a real cult-hero among the Boro faithful, but of course, they'd always known that was going to be the case, because Warnock had told them so...

"A whole-hearted player" - Neil Warnock got his Middlesbrough Matt Crooks prediction spot on

Every now and then, a player comes along and is able to strike up an instant and lasting bond with a club's supporters, and that's precisely what Crooks did after joining Middlesbrough.

Warnock was confident that this would be the case too, having made no secret of his expectation that it would be love at first sight for Boro fans with their new recruit.

Speaking via The Northern Echo shortly after Crooks' signing was confirmed, Warnock said: "I'm delighted to have got him, I've always liked Matthew, for many years.

"He can play in different positions, and he's a whole-hearted player that I think the fans will take to. I'm sure he'll have a good few years at Middlesbrough."

Warnock hit the nail on the head as to what Crooks was going to offer as a Middlesbrough player, especially when citing his versatility. In the 84 games that he started as a Boro player, Crooks appeared in five different positions, ranging from defensive midfield, to spearheading the attacking as a centre-forward.

Crooks' debut season in a Middlesbrough shirt was arguably his best. He made 40 appearances in the 2021/22 Championship campaign, scoring 10 goals and providing two assists, whilst providing a further goal and an assist in four FA Cup appearances.

Those two direct goal contributions were hugely vital and memorable ones too. It was Crooks' - albeit highly controversial handball-related - goal at Old Trafford that would bring the scores level against Manchester United, before Boro would eventually knock the Red Devils out of the FA Cup on penalties.

Whilst his assist came in the following round, as he provided the ball through to Josh Coburn which enabled the striker to lash home a 107th-minute winner to knock Tottenham out of the competition in the fifth round.

He would follow that first season on Teesside up with another impressive year in 2022/23, notching seven goals and six assists in 39 Championship outings.

His final campaign as a Boro player came in 2023/24, in which he would make 25 Championship appearances, scoring three goals and registering six assists. He'd also bag two goals in six Carabao Cup outings during Middlesbrough's brilliant run to the semi-final of the competition that season.

Come February 2024, and with Crooks having moved into more of a rotational role under Michael Carrick, he would call time on his Middlesbrough career by sealing a permanent switch to MLS side Real Salt Lake.

In a classy goodbye letter to the football club and its supporters, Crooks said: "When first joining, I remember saying ‘it’s Middlesbrough’, and I haven’t been disappointed, what a club.

Only six months ago, I described this place as home and that it will remain. But life is short and we only get one go at it, and to have the chance to experience football and life in another country with my family was one I was keen to take up.

"From the very first game, playing as a tricky right-winger at Fulham away, right up to Chelsea in a domestic semi-final, I gave it my all. Under each manager came different challenges and plenty of positions, yet all provided me with memories which I am sure I’ll be able to look back on fondly. Reading at home, United away, Spurs at home, Chelsea at home. Fantastic.

"Good luck to everyone involved with the club for the rest of this campaign, I'm sure the lads and staff will give everything 'til the season ends. Aside from the football, I must place thanks to you all who have supported the Jordan Sinnott Foundation Trust from the minute I arrived.

"We have been able to raise incredible amounts of money together and I hope you continue to keep an eye on what we do. Hair is fine, can’t question it. Belters, all the time? Not sure. Up the burrow, Tree."

Whatever job he was asked to do, he did so without hesitation or fuss, with his desire to wear the crest of Middlesbrough on his chest with the pride and passion it commands evident every time he crossed the white line.

Middlesbrough Football Club received a superb return on their investment in Crooks, and Boro supporters received a beloved cult-hero who always gave everything he had in a red and white shirt.