ARGENTINE outfit Banfield are exploring the possibility of attempting to re-sign Middlesbrough midfielder Martin Payero as he faces a crossroads moment in his career on Teesside.

The club’s manager Claudio Vivas confirmed that the club have made contact with Payero over a potential return to South America with the midfielder understood to have admitted he 'wasn’t against the idea'.

Vivas told Argentinian radio station Hablemos de Bandfield that the idea of Payero making a return to the club was ‘lovely’ and that they are ‘excited’ that it could happen one day. However, he conceded that there may well be complications due to the timing of the English summer transfer window.

The manager admitted that it may take ‘too long’ for the transfer to be completed and with Banfield’s season kicking off tomorrow in the Argentine Primera Division against Newell’s Old Boys, they will prioritise signings they can make straight away.

Boro may be willing to let Payero make his return back to Argentina but would be looking to recoup the sum they shelled out for the 23-year-old last summer, which is suggested to be around £4 million. However, a temporary loan move may well be a possibility as he looks to earn regular game time.

Payero, a popular figure on Teesside, struggled in his first season in England making just 15 appearances in all competitions until injury against Queens Park Rangers in February cut his season short. Sustained periods of other injuries did hamper his campaign but Payero failed to start a game under Chris Wilder since he took over back in November last year. His one goal for the club came in a 2-0 win over Cardiff City back in September 2021.

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Excitement amongst the fan base grew when the 23-year-old completed his permanent switch from Banfield last summer. However, his switch has also laid bare the previous disconnect between the club’s management and recruitment staff as pointed out by Neil Warnock in his parting message after his last game in charge.

Following the 1-1 draw with West Brom, Warnock said at the Hawthorns: “I am a bit frustrated. Even Steve (Gibson) said he felt he let me down a bit. We just missed out on a few lads I feel could have really got us up there in the top two or three. That’s with the signings I wanted.

“But unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and the club are going down a different direction regarding recruitment and that’s fair enough. I thought we were close to getting a few to start with but it was like extracting teeth to get them overboard.

“It just never happened and one by one, other clubs signed them as we hesitated too much and missed out.”

Wilder and the club’s Head of Football Kieran Scott have struck up a working partnership on transfer policy with the club bringing in the likes of Aaron Connolly, Folarin Balogun and Riley McGree during the January transfer window.

Wilder has already been in touch with potential targets for next season as he looks to build a squad capable of achieving promotion to the Premier League. The Boro boss admitted in the closing weeks of the season that they are widening their search across Europe with the club’s recruitment staff pinpointing the Dutch and German leagues as potential areas where they could pursue targets.

With the pair set to implement their plans on the side in the coming weeks, it remains to be seen whether Payero will end up being at the club having been short of game time throughout the season. He currently has two years to run on his exisiting deal on Teesside with his contract ending in the summer of 2024.

Boro are due to report back for pre-season training later this month with the start of the Championship season beginning on the weekend of Saturday July 31st.