With Middlesbrough’s play-off hopes now over, attention is starting to turn towards the fast-approaching summer transfer window.
Michael Carrick‘s side are now resigned to another season in the Championship, as they reside eight points adrift of the top six.
Despite a great run of form, they’ve not been able to recover from their early season woes and now have little to play for in the remaining three games.
If they are to realise their Premier League aspirations, a number of positions will need to be addressed in the summer transfer window.
Here, Boro News takes a look at three areas Carrick and his chiefs need to improve on.
A striker to share the load with Emmanuel Latte Lath
Emmanuel Latte Lath has enjoyed a productive debut campaign on Teesside, netting 14 goals across all competitions.
Though, he can’t do it all on his own, the load needs to be shared, so Boro should invest in a striker this summer.
Further, if Latte Lath were to pick up an injury, which he did earlier this season, Carrick would be left very light in that area.
A Lewis O’Brien replacement
Lewis O’Brien is set to leave Boro at the end of the season, returning to his parent club Nottingham Forest.
The left-footed midfielder will be a huge miss for Carrick, so the recruitment team will need to find a replacement with a similar profile.
A ball-carrier with an eye for a goal would be ideal, perhaps Swansea City loanee Charlie Patino could be an option.
He’ll likely be made available by Arsenal again this summer, so if Boro can convince him that they’ll be challenging for promotion, it seems a realistic option.
A Morgan Rogers replacement
Morgan Rogers was arguably Middlesbrough’s best player for the first half of the season up until he left in a £16m move to Aston Villa in January.
He registered a whopping 16 goal contributions in that time and wasn’t replaced in the winter transfer window.
Indeed, finding someone of a similar calibre for a realistic fee will be difficult, so perhaps dipping into the loan market may be more beneficial.
There are a plethora of talented youngsters in the Premier League that will be available on a temporary basis and given Carrick’s reputation, Boro represent an attractive proposition.
