We can confirm that B team captain Alex Gilbert has departed the club and will join Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough.

The 21-year-old departs having spent three years in West London after joining from West Bromwich Albion in 2020. He registered two appearances for the first team and played 79 times for Neil MacFarlane’s B team over the course of his time with the club.

Gilbert's first campaign in red and white saw him play 22 times for the young Bees while he made his first-team debut against Middlesbrough in the Emirates FA Cup in January 2021 before he featured against Leicester City in the same competition later that month.

That preceded a loan spell with Swindon Town in League Two in the 2021/22 season before he returned to west London to link up with the B team once again.

The 2022/23 campaign saw Gilbert become the captain of the B team and he went onto become the side’s player of the year as he netted 16 times and made eight assists for the team, helping them to lift the Premier League Cup at Gtech Community Stadium on 9 May.

Discussing Gilbert's time at the club, Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane said: “Alex has been an incredible player for us as a B team and he’s been a real talisman for the group. He spent some time out on loan at Swindon and after he came back to us he developed to become our captain and lead the team on and off the pitch.

“He’s shown real quality in training and in matches and in the big games he’s stepped up to the plate and been one of our high performing players during his time with us.

"We’re proud to have played a role in his development and he will now go on to a new experience with Middlesbrough and we wish him well in the next step of his career.”