“Can get by without him” – Middlesbrough open to sale of key Michael Carrick player

Michael Carrick will have to ward off a lot of interest in his key players this summer following a disappointing performance in the Championship last season.

Middlesbrough finished fourth in the second-tier and lost to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals in 2022/23. However, they did not build on their previous good season.

Carrick’s side began the 2023/24 season in poor form, but improved and ended seventh in the Championship, four points behind the play-offs, with players such as Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg improving.

Club Chairman Steve Gibson is “bullish” in his desire to keep his star players on Teesside, but Boro could surely be tempted by big offers for their standout performers in the last few years, most of whom will certainly be on the wish list of top-flight clubs in England and abroad.

Middlesbrough should look to move Riley McGree on this summer

Riley McGree is entering the final year of his contract at Riverside Stadium, and he only appeared in 22 league games in 2023/24, as his impact on the squad waned in comparison to his excellent previous season.

According to FLW’s Middlesbrough fan commentator Phil Spencer of talkSPORT, Boro should prioritize signing the Australian international over other players in the upcoming transfer window.

He stated, “There are a number of Middlesbrough players who are attracting big interest this summer, but the one player that I’d most like to see move on would be Riley McGree.”

“Rav van den Berg, Hayden Hackney, and Emmanuel Latte Lath are three players who are attracting attention and would command big money fees, but all three of them are absolutely vital for what Middlesbrough want to do next season – van den Berg is a solid presence and going to get better and better, we didn’t see all of what Hackney has to offer last season due to injury, and Latte Lath started to show what he was capable of at the back end of the campaign, so he could

“As far as McGree is concerned, he is in the final year of his contract, and there looks to be some hesitation to sign a new deal with the club.

“More importantly, Boro appear to be on the lookout for a replacement and ways to compensate for his absence – Finn Azaz joined in January and frequently played off the left flank in the inside forward position that McGree had previously played, and we are also on the lookout for another versatile attacker to come in, so if that signing is completed, we’ll have two options who can play where McGree does.

“As much as McGree is a fantastic player – when he’s fit and in form, he’s probably Middlesbrough’s best attacking outlet – he didn’t play a lot of football last season due to injury and being away with Australia at the Asian Cup, so we’ve demonstrated that we can get by without him, even if last season wasn’t the best campaign overall.

“If an offer did come in this summer to sell him on and cash in with just a year left on his contract, I think it would be a deal that would be alright for Boro to do, and I think we’d cope with the options we have to get by without him.”

McGree’s recent lack of impact makes him best option to sell

McGree joined Middlesbrough on a three-and-a-half-year contract in January 2022 from American outfit Charlotte FC, after he had previously impressed in a 14-month loan spell at Birmingham City.

After a solid first half-season on Teesside, he established himself as one of Carrick’s most significant attacking players in 2022/23, scoring six goals and providing three assists in 46 games across all competitions and helping Boro reach the play-offs.

This season, however, has been difficult for the Australian international; a foot injury and his country’s Asian Cup campaign limited him to 16 appearances in the first half of the season, and after only nine more games in the side, his season came to an end in March after he sustained another foot injury on international duty.

He was unable to have a significant impact on Boro’s season due to his frequent absences, and they suffered more in front of goal without him, scoring 71 goals in 2023/24 compared to 84 goals when he was at his best.

According to TeessideLive, talks for a new contract with the 25-year-old are ongoing. However, both parties have differing views on what constitutes an acceptable deal. This uncertainty surrounds his future as Boro prepare to refresh their squad while retaining key players such as Latte Lath and van den Berg.

It certainly seems viable that McGree could leave Middlesbrough this summer, as they look to cash in for a fee that eclipses the reported £3.1m paid for him back in 2022, before his contract potentially expires next summer, and he leaves for nothing.