Morgan Whittaker Joins Colorado Rapids After Middlesbrough Exit
Morgan Whittaker’s turbulent Middlesbrough chapter is over. His next stop: Colorado.
The 25-year-old forward has left the Riverside to join MLS side Colorado Rapids on a three-year deal, with the club holding an option for a further year. The fee is undisclosed, but he will occupy one of the Rapids’ coveted Designated Player slots as they push for a stronger finish in the Western Conference, where they currently sit seventh under English head coach Matt Wells.
It marks a sharp change of scene for a player who arrived on Teesside in January 2025 with weighty expectations and a £5m price tag after a prolific spell at Plymouth Argyle. Middlesbrough fought off competition to land him midway through the 2024-25 campaign, convinced he could be the difference in the promotion race.
Instead, his Boro career began in reverse.
Whittaker failed to score in any of his first 16 appearances as Michael Carrick’s side slid out of play-off contention on the final day of the season. The drought grew heavy. At Preston North End he was even cheered off by sections of the away support when substituted, a brutal snapshot of how far confidence had fallen on both sides.
Then, almost suddenly, the story flipped.
He finally broke his duck in a win over Ipswich Town and, once the first went in, the goals came in a rush. Whittaker hit eight in 12, including a streak of six consecutive games, and finished the campaign as Middlesbrough’s top scorer with 14 goals in 66 appearances overall. His late surge helped drag Boro back into the promotion picture before their Premier League hopes were ultimately crushed in the play-offs.
This season began with Whittaker still in Carrick’s plans. He featured in five games and started all three Championship fixtures up to the victory over West Bromwich Albion on 29 August. But while he held his place in the side, the club was changing around him.
Boro have overhauled their squad with 12 new arrivals in the summer window. The final piece came on deadline day with the loan signing of Brighton winger Amario Cozier-Duberry, adding yet another option in the attacking positions Whittaker likes to occupy.
With fresh competition flooding in and an MLS club ready to hand him a marquee role, the move to Colorado gathered pace.
For the Rapids, Whittaker brings a blend of size, work-rate and a proven ability to catch fire once he finds rhythm. For Middlesbrough, it is a clean break from one of the more dramatic arcs of their recent recruitment — a big swing that lurched from drought to hot streak before ending, abruptly, with a transatlantic exit.
Now the question is simple: will the version of Whittaker that lit up those 12 games in red finally get a full season to roar in Colorado’s colours?
