Who is Aidan Morris? Middlesbrough set to sign Columbus Crew midfield all-rounder

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Aidan Morris is set to leave Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew and join English Championship side Middlesbrough FC. According to a report by The Athletic, Morris has already left the US men’s Olympic team to wrap up the final details of the transfer. Middlesbrough are expected to pay in the region of $4m (€3.7m) plus bonus payments for the 22-year-old central midfielder.  

The parameters of that deal would make Morris one of the five most expensive player sales in Columbus Crew history (overview). While the transfer fulfills Morris’ ambitions to head to Europe, the Crew will lose a key player. The 22-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida native has been a big part of a Columbus squad that reached the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup this season. 

Indeed, Morris was among the scorers in Columbus’ 5-2 aggregate (3-1; 2-1) victory in the semifinals against Monterrey. But the central midfielder was unable to make the difference in the final against Pachuca (3-0). Despite being in Concacaf action, the Crew have played a strong campaign and sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand. 

A homegrown player, Morris has been part of the MLS side since the 2020 season and has scored seven goals and nine assists in 109 games across all competitions for the Crew. The US men’s national team player had his major breakthrough with the arrival of head coach Wilfried Nancy. Under the Franco-Canadian coach, Morris has developed into a key midfielder for Columbus both in the attack but also in terms of defensive duties. 

According to Wyscout, Morris is seventh in MLS with 9.88 passes to the final third and ninth with 74.29% defensive duels won. With that in mind, Morris is certainly one of the more complete midfielders in MLS, and while he will be a great signing for Middlesbrough, his departure will be a big loss for the Columbus Crew.