We all remember the saga that unfolded before Jelle Vossen finally completed his Boro switch at the start of the season.
The player himself pleaded to join Boro and fans took to Twitter begging Genk to allow him to move on - but has the striker done enough to convince Boro to make his season-long loan deal a permanent one?
The Belgian striker was expected to take the league by storm after finally completing his move to the Championship but has found goals hard to come by.
That said, he's had to cope with squad rotation in the frontline as Aitor Karanka juggled his attacking options.
So with the summer fast approaching, should Boro fork out and extend Vossen's stay on Teesside?
Philip Tallentire and Dominic Shaw discuss.
Philip Tallentire says Yes: Keep him
Boro battled long and hard to sign Jelle Vossen so you'd expect him to be given every opportunity to prove his worth.
Analysing his stats, it's not clear that he has been afforded the stage to make a convincing case to play week-in, week-out for Boro.
He's made 28 league appearances, but just 16 starts.
That's not entirely down to Aitor Karanka's whims. Following his protracted contract wrangle with Genk, Vossen wasn't 100% fit when he arrived at Rockliffe Park and has had to adapt to a new footballing culture in the white hot heat of a Championship promotion battle.
He's also suffered several injuries of varying levels of severity, including concussion.
Middlesbrough's Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford celebrate the third goal against Millwall
As a result, his longest run of consecutive starts so far is just four games back in November/December.
That sequence yielded three goals – a fine hat-trick at Millwall – half his tally in the Championship.
He's also occupied several positions when he has started, including a No9 line-leader, a second striker in a 4-4-2, a wide midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 and as a No10.
That can't help his attempts to find a useful regular role in the team.
Vossen looks like a player who needs a full pre-season with his club and, if possible, a clearly defined role.
Is he a No10, a No9 or a striker who needs a partner in crime?
Able to score on the deck – primarily with his right foot – or with his head, and a useful operator anywhere in the final third, his versatility is proving to be his undoing.
But his time should come.
He's been in England just just four months but he's already shown in spells that he could be a crucial player for the club.
Kike , Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford celebrate
We don't know which division Boro will be in next season but Vossen looks like a player who could occupy one of the key attacking roles in the team in 2015/16.
To allow him to go back to Genk where, in all probability, he'll be picked up by another club, possibly from England, would be a gamble and a waste of a lot of time, effort and trouble.
If Boro don't go up it's hard to see Patrick Bamford returning to play in the Championship for another season and there's no guarantee he'll be back even in the event of promotion.
The pursuit of Jordan Rhodes suggests the club aren't convinced Kike can score the required number of goals as the No.9.
So Vossen could find himself tasked with scoring the lion's share of the goals next season.
Patience is a virtue and, by sticking with Vossen, Boro could well be rewarded with crucial strikes in the not too distant future.
Dominic Shaw says No: The jury is still out
I, like everyone, thought Jelle Vossen would kick on after his hat-trick against Millwall back in December.
Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.
Nobody can question the striker's work ethic, he puts in a sterling shift and is a nightmare for defenders to play against as he constantly harries and harasses, forcing mistakes.
But with that work-rate must come an output in the final third and with just six goals and two assists in the league, he hasn't done enough in the opposition box.
I don't doubt Vossen's quality and the player himself would no doubt argue he hasn't been given a run in the team to establish himself. Fair point.
Jelle Vossen
But with a goal every 231 minutes, he's not exactly hammering Karanka's door down.
The gaffer obviously rates the Belgian, we know how many times he's reiterated his belief in his strikers this year, but the frontman hasn't ripped this league apart like many predicted he would.
It was the signing of Vossen rather than the addition of Bamford that had pulses racing but there's no doubt who's higher up the pecking order now.
I'm still not convinced Vossen fits into Karanka's favoured system either. He'd be at his most dangerous as the second striker in a 4-4-2 rather than having to play in the No.10 role, where he's played most of his football this year.
A failure? Not at all. Vossen has been a crucial squad member this season who has demonstrated his quality on a number of occasions.
© CameraSport 
Middlesbrough's Jelle Vossen celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal at Millwall
His willingness to keep an attack moving at pace suits Boro's style of play, especially on the road when they counter at speed.
And his attitude should be applauded too. He must have been frustrated to have been left out on more than one occasion this season but has never let his head drop, just as he didn't when Simon Eastwood was seemingly on a one-man mission to keep the Belgian out.
One of his best displays came at the Etihad, a suggestion that maybe he could step up a level if Boro were to win promotion and his loan deal was made permanent.
But instead of making Karanka's mind up for him, he's left the boss with a decision to make.
Has he done enough to merit the financial outlay this summer? The jury is still out.
