The latest transfer update coming out of Middlesbrough will be music to the ears of Michael Carrick.
Since their latest relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2016/17 season, Middlesbrough have struggled to make any real progress in their push for promotion.
The North East outfit have largely focused on short-term solutions to long-term problems both on and off the field.
On the manager front, figures like Tony Pulis and Neil Warnock have graced the Middlesbrough dugout with Steve Gibson clearly looking for a quick fix to his club’s issues.
As was to be expected, neither of these managers stayed at Boro for long, leaving the Teessiders without any real long-term vision.
Much to the joy of the Middlesbrough faithful, however, Gibson has now seemingly realized there is no quick fix when it comes to building a side good enough to secure promotion from England’s second tier.
Middlesbrough looking to build long-term success under Michael Carrick
The first step Boro took towards building a viable long-term plan was appointing former Norwich City Sporting Director Kieran Scott as Head of Football in 2021.
With an experienced figurehead now in place behind the scenes, Boro’s attention turned toward the dugout.
Middlesbrough’s last successful manager was Aitor Karanka. The Spaniard, who worked closely with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, had no prior experience as a boss but was afforded an opportunity by Boro and very much delivered, taking a side languishing in midtable and making them into play-off finalists in less than a year.
Now, the North East outfit are looking to repeat that trick with Michael Carrick, whose only prior stint as a manager saw him take temporary charge of Manchester United for three games.
Much like Karanka, though, Carrick’s success at the Riverside was almost instantaneous.
Middlesbrough finished 4 in the league during the former midfielder’s first season at the club before losing in the playoffs to Coventry City.
Kieran Scott outlines Middlesbrough Premier League promotion ambition & transfer strategy
This past season was less fruitful, with the Teessiders only managing an 8-place finish in the Championship.
However, Kieran Scott recently reaffirmed both he and Michael Carrick’s desire to secure promotion with the club:
“But in terms of ambition, I can assure you, there is still a burning ambition to win promotion,” he said. “We attracted Michael to the job because of that. Everything he achieved in his career, he hasn’t just come here to just sit in the Championship. I certainly haven’t come here for that either.”
One of the main reasons for Boro failing to make the playoffs last term was their depleted squad.
Top-scorer Chuba Akpom was sold to Ajax, while loanees such as Cameron Archer, Ryan Giles and Jacob Ramsey all returned to their parent clubs during the summer of 2023.
Boro have since learned from their mistakes when it comes to signing loan players, however.
Scott confirmed earlier this month that while the club will continue to utilise the loan market, they will instead focus on bringing in players who could, realistically, join Boro on permanent deals down the line:
“You can still loan, but we have to be smarter than loaning everyone’s best young players who have five years left on their deals and you’re never going to get them after that,” Scott said earlier this month.
“Luke Ayling, he was coming to the end of his contract, we knew we could sign him, there was an end-game there. Sam Greenwood, we had an option there.
“Luke Thomas we could have done a similar situation. Lewis O’Brien was desperate to stay but that was difficult (financially). There are a couple this year we’re looking at. There could be a couple of loans but there’ll be a future with them.”
Why Middlesbrough transfer update is good news for Michael Carrick
This new loan policy has already been put into practice, with Luke Ayling signing on a free transfer in the current window after a six-month loan spell from Leeds United last season.
However, one key issue is still lingering over Middlesbrough – their persistent selling of their top players.
Chuba Akpom was solid to Ajax last year after hitting 29 goals in just one season for the North East outfit.
In previous campaigns, meanwhile, key stars like Ben Gibson, Adama Traore and Patrick Bamford were all moved on despite being crucial figures at the club.
In turn, there is a fear amongst the Middlesbrough faithful that more important names will be sold this summer.
Rav van den Berg, Hayden Hackney, and Emmanuel Latte Lath are all the subject of interest this summer but according to the Northern Echo, Steve Gibson is said to be ‘bullish’ in his desire to keep the key trio on Teesside.
This will come as a major boost for Michael Carrick as he aims to secure promotion with Middlesbrough at the third time of asking.
Boro have spent far too many years trying and failing to rebuild teams under different managers and on the back of losing big names.
But if they are able to keep hold of the aforementioned trio and imbed new signings like Ayling and Delano Burgzorg, their chances of earning promotion in 2024/25 should greatly increase.
This is seemingly a view Kieran Scott shares, recently pointing out the issues Boro faced last term due to the number of changes that had to be made to the squad:
“Last summer felt like big changes, a lot of changes,” he said. “Not only were we trying to strengthen the first team starters, we were trying to strengthen the squad around it. It’s no secret the loans left a big hole that needed to be filled.
“But going into this season, I feel like we need to find four or five players who add real quality. That makes the squad better, your bench better. That’s our focus going into the summer.”
Should Middlesbrough limit their outgoings this summer and continue to make smart signings, they could finally return to the top flight for the first time since 2017.