Middlesbrough are finishing the season in fine form and there is a good feeling around Teesside about their promotion hopes next season.
Despite suffering a 4-3 defeat to Leeds United last night, Michael Carrick‘s side matched them for large periods of the game and actually had them under the cosh heading into the latter stages.
Prior to the defeat, Boro were on a run of nine games without a defeat, which is the kind of form that would’ve had them in the promotion picture had they not started the campaign so poorly.
Emmanuel Latte Lath has found his feet in the Championship following his £4.3m switch from Serie A outfit Atalanta.
The 25-year-old netted twice against Leeds and looked every inch of a Premier League striker, as he took his tally to 16 goals across all competitions.
The future looks bright for Middlesbrough and if Carrick solves this one problem in the summer, they’ll get promoted back to the top flight next term.
Middlesbrough need to sign a goalscoring winger
The Teessiders can’t become over-reliant on Latte Lath and must spread the goal around the forward line, which hasn’t really been the case this season.
Boro’s second-top scorer is Isaiah Jones with eight, followed by Morgan Rogers with seven, which is a little concerning considering the latter departed in January.
Middlesbrough chiefs sanctioned the £16m sale of Rogers to Aston Villa during the winter transfer window and those funds haven’t been reinvested in the squad.
This summer, they should make it their priority to sign a goalscoring winger to help share the load with Late Lath.
Sammy Silvera has been hit and miss, in truth, so there is an evident need to dip into the market for another forward.
Middlesbrough should monitor League One talents
There are a plethora of talents in League One who will be going under the radar.
Karamoko Dembele is certainly a player they should consider signing. The 21-year-old playmaker is enjoying an outstanding season on loan at Blackpool and is the third top assister in the division.
Dembele’s parent club Stade Brestois may be willing to sanction another loan deal or even a permanent one for the right fee.
Peterborough United’s Kwame Poku is another who Middlesbrough should look at, having netted 12 times whilst laying on eight assists in 37 outings.