SOL Brynn is not yet 24 but has already made more than 100 senior appearances. He's not yet played for Middlesbrough but he hopes that changes soon. One thing that hasn't changed during a string of impressive loan spells is the goalkeeper's dream: to wear the gloves for his hometown club.

When Brynn returned to Boro 12 months ago on the back of a hugely impressive spell at Swindon Town, he hoped a first team opportunity on Teesside would follow. Instead, Boro decided another move was the best course of action.

Brynn's response?

"I just looked at the bigger picture," he tells the Northern Echo.

"It's about games. You need to earn your chance in football, you can't just sulk and expect things to happen for you, you need to earn it."

And Brynn has done all in his power to earn opportunities. On the back of winning the Player of the Year award at Swindon, he stepped up to League One with Leyton Orient and again shone. Thirteen clean sheets led to another end of season award. And leads to Brynn preparing for pre-season at Boro once again determined to catch the eye.

"You always hope for Middlesbrough," he says, when asked what next season could hold.

"My aspiration is to play for Boro, that's what I want."

Boro's coaching team are understood to have not only been hugely impressed by the way Brynn has performed and conducted himself on his loan moves - with a stint at Queen of the South in Scotland coming before his spells at Swindon and Leyton Orient - but they've also liked what they've seen when the 23-year-old has returned to Rockliffe.

It's an interesting summer ahead between the posts at the Riverside. Both Brynn and Zach Hemming, who both have two years left on their current contracts, return to Boro on the back of impressive loans. Seny Dieng looks set to be the No.1 again next term but with Tom Glover having been linked with a move away at the back end of last term, the role of chief deputy could be up for grabs this summer.

Though he's spent the last two seasons elsewhere, Brynn has had a taste of life under  Carrick. He was part of the squad for the early weeks of pre-season last summer before his Leyton Orient switch got the green light and joined in training at Rockliffe at the very end of the most recent campaign with League One coming to a close the week before the Championship.

"Last summer was massively beneficial," says the keeper.

"I'd watched the majority of the games and did so again this season when I could, so I knew how they played, but it was good to get a feel for it. Woody (Jonathan Woodgate) had told us how the gaffer expected us to play and it's different to what I was doing. It was massively beneficial."

Different, perhaps, but nothing that Brynn is uncomfortable with. Carrick's keepers need to be as impressive with their feet as they are their hands and it's something Brynn has worked on an awful lot.

"When I was brought up we were still playing out but nowhere near to the level we are now," he says.

"You're a third centre-half essentially. I feel quite comfortable playing like that. It helps when you have ball playing centre-halves in front of you as well.

"I always think with the playing out stuff if you know you're going to get backed and you can make a mistake, it makes your job a lot easier. Because then there's nothing in the back of your mind saying do I take that risk?"

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Brynn has felt the backing of both Carrick and first team coach Woodgate over the past 18 months. Last summer, when Brynn signed a new three-year contract before heading to Leyton Orient, Carrick explained to the keeper Boro's decision to send him out on loan again.

"He said I'd had a good season at Swindon and he wanted me to build on it, get more experience, keep improving and keep proving myself," says Brynn.

"He said I had nothing to worry about after I'd signed the new contract so I could focus purely on my football.

"He's extremely calm, knowledgeable, pretty much exactly as he looks from the outside. You always want to see academy lads given a chance and it is a boost when you've come through the academy and you see the lads getting a chance as they have been."

As for Woodgate, Brynn and the Teessider go back a fair few years, with the former defender having worked in the academy ranks before taking the job as boss in 2019.

"Woody has always been great with me and he's been top when I've come back," said Brynn.

"He just keeps giving me little tips and bits of advice, just helping me with what I need to do basically, but all constructively."

Brynn was pleased with how his Leyton Orient spell played out.

"It went really well," he said.

"After proving myself in League Two, proving myself in League One felt like the logical next step. It's a big step to go from League Two to the Championship, but I think it helps if you make the steps gradually."

Is he ready for the Championship now?

"I just think it's a natural step," he says.

"It's one of them where you don't really know unless you play.

"When you're at my age, I think it's all about games. The more games you play, the more experience you get and you learn how to handle things. So when you get put into certain situations, you're equipped, it's not a shock for you and you don't bat an eyelid."