Middlesbrough are hoping Mark Travers can come in and replicate his promotion-winning Bournemouth form on Teesside.

The goalkeeper is a key capture for Boro this month, after long-term injuries suffered by Sol Brynn and Seny Dieng. A player they’ve admired for many years, Travers ticked so many boxes and they were happy to be patient as Bournemouth waited for an update on an injury to goalkeeper Will Dennis. Finally, Boro were able to get their man in the final week of the window.

Travers ticked so many boxes for Boro. Having started his youth career as a central midfielder, he’s good with his feet. Despite being just 25, he already has plenty of experience too. He made 45 appearances and won the Championship Golden Gloves award after 20 clean sheets, on the way to Bournemouth finishing as Championship runners up in 2022 and earning promotion back to the Premier League. His boss then, Scott Parker, was clear in his praise, offering an exciting insight into the keeper Boro are getting.

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Parker told our sister site Dorset Live: “(Mark Travers) probably epitomises the squad. He probably epitomises everything we are, to be honest with you. Mark Travers in goal at the start of the season, let’s get right, you’re looking at a keeper that looked young.

“You looked at times thinking, ‘is he ready for this?’ But we stuck with him. And more importantly, Mark Travers has worked tirelessly. He took the bumps along the way and improved drastically.

“It's a sign of a top keeper that in big moments makes big saves. Saves you think, ‘wow he should not have saved that. Over the past three or four months, Travs is coming into the realms of making big saves at big moments. That's happened over the course of the season."

Having conceded one too many soft goals this season, a top shot-stopper is an obvious attraction for Boro. In his last appearance for Bournemouth he made eight saves on the way to helping the Cherries claim a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Manager Andoni Iraola credited him with keeping them in the game.

But, of course, the remainder of the season will be high-pressure too. Currently sixth in the Championship, there are 17 games remaining for Boro to ensure they earn a play-off spot, and then hopefully three more after that to get the club back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

While Boro’s squad certainly has the quality to make that a reality, their campaign has so far been blighted by errors, particularly at the back - highlighted once again at Preston North End. In that sense, a convincing and commanding goalkeeper could really help settle those in front of him too. While Travers may be relatively young in goalkeeper terms, his experience and temperament has always been a point of praise.

”Mark potentially could have been a pro golfer if he wasn't a goalkeeper, he was brilliant, by all accounts. He has that temperament, he is so consistent. He has a massive frame, 6'4 or 6'5 and gets in the way, he's difficult to beat and athletic,” was the description of then Ireland boss Stephen Kenny back in 2022.

It doesn’t appear to be a quality developed over time with age and experience either. Crucially, his calm and composed nature - an important trait for any good goalkeeper - appears to be a natural thing. He became the youngest Premier League goalkeeper to debut, aged just 19, since Joe Hart 13 years prior. It was quite some game for the Irish international too, as he earned a man of the match award after keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Tottenham.

Then-Cherries boss Eddie Howe said: “It was a great display from him. He’s someone we really do believe in. He’s got great temperament and attitude to the game. He played like it was a training session and that’s a huge compliment.

“He showed real confidence with his feet. He kicked the ball well, made some saves and impressed with his all-round game management.”

His early Bournemouth displays resulted in an early Ireland callup at the same age too. Mick McCarthy handed him that honour and later said of him: "He was terrific, everybody was impressed by him when he came in with us and a lovely young man as well.

"[I was] impressed. He's going to be a good goalkeeper. Shay Given made his debut at 19. I'm not suggesting for one minute he's the next Shay Given so don't let me put that in, but age is not a problem, it's his ability.

"It is understanding his personality as well, how he handled being in the first-team squad when he came. He was very calm about it, very mature, for a 19-year-old young man.

"[He's a] really calm individual, trained that way, didn't get flustered. Listened to everything that was said to him by Alan Kelly (Ireland goalkeeping coach) and Alan Kelly thought he was excellent. So it wasn't a surprise to me that he handled it.

"Youngsters can get flustered. The problem is, is when it doesn't go well and you're a youngster, how do you come back from that one If you're a bit older and more mature, it's probably happened to you and you know you'll come back. But listen, we can only applaud him on his first game, he was brilliant."

With the ability and the temperament, Boro will now be hoping their Travers patience pays off. If the 25-year-old loanee can produce some of those Bournemouth ‘wow’ moments, perhaps he could finally help Boro see more results over the line this season on their way to a top-six finish.