MIDDLESBOROUGH have reiterated the club’s desire to leave goalkeeper Sol Brynn out on loan at Swindon Town for the remainder of the season.

Brynn signed a season-long loan deal at the County Ground during the summer and was expected to hold down the number one shirt for the duration of his stay in Wiltshire.

Following a slightly rocky start – which saw some fans heavily criticise the young stopper after just a handful of performances – Brynn grew in confidence and can now count eight clean sheets in 22 League Two appearances as Town lie fourth.

As is standard with EFL season-long loans, the parent club holds the option to recall their player during the January transfer window, which is less than two weeks away.

And with the Teesiders’ boss, Michael Carrick, having shown a keenness to give young players an opportunity, there had been a handful of concerns among Robins fans that the former Manchester United and England midfielder may have wanted to include either Brynn or peer Zack Hemming – who is on loan at Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock – in his squad during the second half of the campaign.

However, Middlesborough’s head of football, Kieran Scott recently told a Middlesbrough supporters’ meeting that this is highly unlikely to be the case as things stand.

Scott said: “The two young boys (Brynn and Hemming) are doing well.

“Sol has been putting in some brilliant performances at Swindon. They are both 22 years old and showing lots of promise and have been pushing each other on.

“They return to us at the end of the season, and we will decide the next steps with them then.”

Meanwhile, the picture on Swindon’s other two out-and-out loanees is slightly more cloudy, with Luke Jephcott expected to become a Town player on a permanent deal next month.

Frazer Blake-Tracy recently admitted it was “50-50” whether Burton Albion would recall him in January in order to try and extract some money from his sale, with his contract due to expire in July 2023.

Sheffield Wednesday defender Ciaran Brennan will be anxiously waiting to see where his future lies as the Owls are currently experiencing an injury crisis at centre-back, much like Town.

Ben Heneghan and Michael Ihiekwe are both out long-term, and Darren Moore’s preference for playing three centre-halves is forcing a rethink for the Hillsborough club.

The chances are Brennan being recalled are currently quite low, but should either of Wednesday’s own loan defenders – Blackpool’s Reece James and Cardiff City’s Mark McGuinness – being asked to return to their parent clubs, those odds could decrease significantly.