RAV van den Berg hung up and instantly got in touch with his agent and his parents.

His mind was made up, he was joining Middlesbrough.

What had convinced him? What he'd heard from both Michael Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate in the phone call that had just finished.

And in the 12 months or so that have followed that first interaction between the teenage centre-half and Middlesbrough's boss and first team coach, van den Berg has continued to be blown away by the pair.

"They've both played such a big role in my development," he says.

Before in-demand van den Berg sat down for his first set of talks with Boro's coaching staff last summer, he was obviously well aware of who Carrick and Woodgate were and their achievements in the game.

But it wasn't what had happened in the past that convinced the Dutchman that the move to Boro was the right one, rather how both Carrick and Woodgate were invested in helping van den Berg fulfil his enormous potential in the future.

“I think because I know both played at such a high level - Woody of course in the same position as me as well," says the 19-year-old.

"I knew I could learn a lot from him. I knew straight away from the first conversation that they were so keen to convince me to come here. But they also set out what they could teach me, which was the big difference in what the other clubs did.

"It was straight after that phone call, I was straight onto my agent and my parents and told them I was convinced on which club I wanted to join."

Van den Berg enjoyed a hugely impressive first campaign at Boro, establishing himself in the side and scooping both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year trophies at the recent end of season awards night.

And he was quick to point praise in the direction of Carrick, Woodgate and Boro's coaching team.

"They (Carrick and Woodgate) are both the same in how they want to develop a player," he said.

"Of course, the gaffer thinks about the team as a collective, but he also thinks about the individual as well and how he can develop a player even more. So both of them have done an amazing job for me and I’m really thankful."

RECOMMENDED READING:

It's no secret that van den Berg turned down some of Europe's biggest clubs to join Boro last summer.

Shining for PEC Zwolle in his homeland, van den Berg was one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, with Juventus, Dortmund, AC Milan and Ajax among those chasing his signature.

So why, in his own words, did he choose Boro?

“I’m lucky because my brother [Sepp] plays football as well," he says.

"He went to move to a big club [Liverpool], so from him I was able to learn both the good, positive things about doing that, but also the negative things as well.

"I wanted to play football, so it wasn’t really a hard decision. Of course there were some big clubs in, but I wanted to play football and I knew if I went there I wouldn’t be playing in the first team.

"I had to ask myself, ‘do I want that?’ and I didn’t, so that’s why I came here. This is a big club as well, by the way, but, it’s true, that the clubs that were interested then were some of the biggest."