Mamadou Kaly Sene

Kaly Sène is a 25-year-old Senegalese centre forward currently playing for Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship. He arrived at the Riverside as an option to add physicality and pace to the attacking line, but the 2025/26 season has been a difficult one in terms of establishing himself as a regular starter.

Across 25 appearances this season, Sène has managed just two goals and no assists from 666 minutes of action, producing an average rating of 6.54. Those numbers reflect a player who has largely been used as an impact substitute rather than a first-choice striker. In his last five outings he has not started a single match, with his longest run of minutes in that spell coming to just 27, against Portsmouth in an April defeat. Middlesbrough have struggled for results in that same period, losing to Charlton, Millwall and Portsmouth while drawing at Swansea, and Sène has not been able to change the dynamic when introduced from the bench.

His role at the club appears to be that of a rotation option and late-game threat, deployed when Middlesbrough need to chase a match or press high in the final stages. With no goals or assists in his last five appearances and limited minutes across all of them, he is clearly some way down the attacking pecking order at present. No recent transfer activity has been confirmed, and his international situation with Senegal has not produced notable call-up news during this period.

In Middlesbrough's upcoming fixtures, the key question around Sène is whether he can force his way into the starting eleven or continue to be used sparingly off the bench. Observers will want to see whether he can make a tangible impact in the limited minutes he receives, particularly in terms of hold-up play and creating pressure on opposition defences when the game is on the line.