Boro’ put some cash on the table in summer 2023 and that was enough to convince Peterborough United to let us have Ben Thompson; the midfielder signing for an undisclosed fee after one season at London Road. It means we’ll never know how much wonga changed hands to land the player. But the fact we were prepare to spend money to seal the deal speaks volumes enough. And what this meant was that we got ourselves a guy with at least 200 Football League appearances to his name.

Not sure what type of player Thompson is? Well, a former boss of his – Neil Harris – called him a “top player” with “ball carrying ability, tenaciousness and aggression”. As we went into League One ahead of the 2023-4 campaign, it is the sort of player we’d certainly find useful. Not least as we’d had a couple of big midfielders leave that summer. And how about the lad himself? Well, upon his arrival, he told our official site: “I’ve played against the manager’s teams for several years now and I’ve have always liked the way he does things.”

Ben Thompson: Before Boro’

Thompson signed for Peterborough United in June 2022 on a two-year deal – along with an option to extend to a third year. That’d be why we had to pay a fee to secure his services. In his only year at London Road, the midfielder played more than 30 times – scoring once.

In actual fact, 2022 was a calendar year in which the lad turned out for three teams. He started it at boyhood side Millwall, where he’d spent eight years after turning pro and made well over 100 appearances. But then it looked as if first team opportunities were at a premium as the 2021-2 season progressed. As such, he would be allowed to leave at the end of January 2022 by mutual consent. His next move was to join up with former Lions boss Neil Harris at Gillingham, where he’d see out the remainder of the campaign.

Thompson also spent time on loan at Portsmouth during his time at The Den.