Norwich City provided Middlesbrough FC six-figure bargain | OneFootball

Daniel Ayala joined Boro from the Canaries in 2014, and would go on to become a cult figure on Teesside.

The 2014 January transfer window was Aitor Karanka's first in charge of Middlesbrough, and it would provide the club with a cult figure for many years to come.

Appointed in November 2013, Karanka became Boro's first ever foreign manager following the departure of Tony Mowbray. It was seen as a major gamble by the club, given the fact that this would be his first job in full-time management after spending years as José Mourinho's assistant at Real Madrid.

With Boro languishing in 16th place in the Championship upon his arrival, and just five points above the relegation zone, the Spaniard was tasked with building on the foundations that Mowbray had left following the turbulent Gordon Strachan era at the Riverside.

In order to do that, he would have to undertake a serious overhaul of the playing squad, and the 2014 winter window was his first big opportunity to start putting his stamp on his Middlesbrough team.

One such arrival was Norwich City centre-back Daniel Ayala, and over the following six-and-a-half years, he would play a vital role in one of the club's most successful periods in recent times.

Daniel Ayala turns Middlesbrough loan into permanent Riverside move for bargain price

Having initially signed for Middlesbrough on a three-month emergency loan deal in October 2013, Karanka had seen enough from his fellow countryman in the short amount of time he'd worked with him to secure his signature on a permanent basis.

As such, 24 January 2014 marked the day Boro signed the then 23-year-old from Norwich City for a mere £350,000. It was a three-and-a-half year deal for Ayala, and so Karanka had made his first permanent signing of his Middlesbrough career.

Karanka wanted to make Boro tougher and meaner in defence, and it quickly became obvious why he was taken by Ayala. Despite his relative youth, the Spaniard was regularly bullying centre-forwards with his formidable frame, whilst also possessing the ability to play with the ball at his feet too.

In his first season on Teesside, he would make 19 total appearances, in which he would bag three goals - a glimpse into the threat he would offer Boro at the other end of the pitch in the future.

Ayala becomes Premier League promotion stalwart in the heart of record-setting Middlesbrough defence

As Karanka and his staff got to work with more ins and outs, it soon became clear in the 2014/15 campaign that Middlesbrough were a football club on the up.

Players such as Adam Clayton, Kike, Adam Forshaw, Lee Tomlin and Emilio Nsue all made the move to Boro during the 2014/15 season, as the Teessiders evolved from mid-table security into serious promotion contenders.

They would concede just 37 Championship goals that season, which was the fewest in the division, as Karanka's side secured a fourth-placed finish in his first full season in charge.

A two-legged play-off semi-final win over Brentford booked Boro's date with destiny, as they would take on Ayala's former employers Norwich City in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

Goals from Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond would see the Canaries take their place in the Premier League for the 2015/16 season, as Middlesbrough fell agonisingly short at the final hurdle.

However, it was a superb campaign from the boys in red and white, and Ayala was a huge part of their success. He would finish that term with four goals in 30 Championship appearances, having established himself as a key component of Karanka's defence.

2015/16 would see the club banish their Wembley demons and go one better, securing automatic promotion on the final day of the season with a draw against Brighton on a memorable afternoon at the Riverside.

Remarkably, Middlesbrough would concede just 31 times in the Championship that season, which was the fewest number of any team across England's top four divisions.

The Riverside became a fortress under Karanka, with his team setting a new club record of nine consecutive home clean sheets that year, and once again, Ayala was a key factor behind that.

His centre-back partnership with Ben Gibson was arguably the best in the Championship, with their no-nonsense approach blended with the ability to play, pass and launch attacks being a nightmare combination to topple for the opposition.

Ayala leaves legacy as one of Boro's best Championship defenders

Promotion to the Premier League saw Karanka make a number of new additions, including central defenders Bernardo Espinoza and Calum Chambers respectively.

It was Chambers who would become the preferred starting option in central defence alongside Gibson, resulting in Ayala making just 14 top-flight appearances during Boro's ill-fated 2016/17 campaign.

Karanka would depart the club in March 2017, and relegation from the Premier League would soon follow. However, a return to the second tier would see the reinstatement of Ayala as a key starter in the heart of Boro's defence.

2017/18 saw him make 34 Championship appearances, in which he scored seven times and provided one assist. It was one of the most impressive individual seasons by a Middlesbrough centre-back in terms of goalscoring for a long time.

Two more years of service would follow, but with no promotion back to the Premier League and with his contract winding down, Ayala decided to call time on his Middlesbrough career by joining Blackburn Rovers in September 2020.

Ayala left a legacy as one of Boro's finest defenders to represent the club in the Championship. A vital part of one of Middlesbrough's best defensive units of all-time, his tough-tackling, no-nonsense and collection of important goals saw him forever win a place in the hearts of Teessiders.

216 appearances, 23 goals, seven assists and so many memorable moments in-between - all for the bargain price of £350,000.