Former Hearts and Hibs stars become free agents as English Championship club release duo
The English Championship club have confirmed the exit of ex Hearts and Hibs men.
Middlesbrough have confirmed the exits of Hearts and Hibs stars from the recent past in their retained list.
Midfielder Dan Barlaser exits the Riverside at the end of his deal following a loan stint with David Gray’s Premiership side from Easter Road during season 25/26. Jon McLaughlin, who spent a season at Hearts before stints with the likes of Sunderland and Rangers, served as a back-up goalkeeper but also moves on.
Barlaser was a regular for Hibs and Gray previously confirmed permanent contract talks were ongoing with the midfielder. McLaughlin was Hearts’ number one during the 2017/18 season, impressing between the sticks and attracting Sunderland interest, who he signed for and spent two years with. A four-year stint at Rangers began in 2020 and the 38-year-old previously capped by Scotland has since been at Swansea City and Middlesbrough.
Who has been released by Middlesbrough?
Marcus Forss, Alex Gilbert, Darragh Lenihan and Sammy Silvera are the other players released by the English Championship side at the end of their contracts. A statement reads: “The club's retained list has been submitted at the end of the 2025/26 season. To all the players departing the club this summer, the club offers its thanks for their contributions in a Boro shirt, and we wish them all the very best in their future careers.”
Middlesbrough narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat to Hull City in the play-off final at Wembley. Boss Kim Hellberg said: “I think in general the performance was quite good. II think we defended brilliantly, but we were unable to capitalise on the chances we created. We had a lot of moments where we drove the game forward but just didn’t take those chances.
“It felt like we went into extra time driving the game and trying to find a goal, but they scored and that’s football. It’s a game of small margins. We have to use this as fuel when we come back and try to get better because the overall feeling is that we’ve been up there, we’ve been fighting and have been very good in many aspects of the game.
Why did Middlesbrough miss out on the Premier League?
“But when it came to the result and the table, we missed out by a small margin — both in the league and the Play-Offs. We’ve had a lot of tough injuries, with Luke Ayling being away for three months — the best player in the league — and Alfie Jones, I think, was the top centre-back from the beginning of January through to the end of the season,” he continued.
“It’s been tough. We will see what happens this summer. I think the players have fought well, and I’m very happy with them and proud of the way they play football and try to drive forward in every game. It doesn’t matter if it’s Wembley, home or away, I think we always try to do that and I’m very proud of the way we play.”
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