Boro’s young guns looking to fire way into Carrick’s plans
MICHAEL Carrick has so far proved himself willing to give youngsters opportunities at Middlesbrough when earned - and this summer is expected to be no different.
As well as handing league debuts to two young Boro stars in Pharrell Willis and Sonny Finch, the Boro head coach has also regularly called up young players to give them chances to impress in first-team training.
With options depleted at the start of pre-season after six loan players returned to parent clubs, that will be the case again this summer.
While by no means an exhaustive list, we take a look at some of the standout players in Boro’s academy whom we think could have a good chance of impressing Carrick this summer and potentially following in Hayden Hackney’s footsteps to become first-team players.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper is highly-rated at Boro and returns of the back of a really successful loan spell at League Two Swindon.
Said to be excellent all-round but crucially really calm and assured with the ball at his feet, Brynn is likely to be given his chance this summer after Zack Steffen’s exit.
The right-back has had spells at Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Brighton before joining Boro in 2020. A regular last season for the under-21s, he possesses good pace and defensive nous.
He has Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel currently ahead of him in the pecking order but has previously trained with the first team under Carrick.
A 20-year-old centre-back from Stockton, Hannah has many fans at Rockliffe Park and could get an opportunity in pre-season.
Carrick has excellent options in defence, but with Matt Clarke struggling still with injury, there could be a gap there for Hannah to fill.
Alternatively, versatile defender Bilongo could also fill that gap, with the advantage of offering the balance of being a natural left-footer.
He has made the Boro bench once under Carrick and also impressed last summer under Chris Wilder to the point the then-Boro boss had been tempted to give him a go as he struggled for a left-sided defender.
He did play half an hour in the Carabao Cup defeat to Barnsley.
Conteh will return from an impressive loan spell at Gateshead which saw him named Fans’ Player of the Year this summer.
The midfielder left a really positive impression on Heed fans who have backed him to have a bright future.
Already a Sierra Leone international, the ex-Watford man has good pedigree.
Made his debut for Boro under Carrick early in his Boro reign at Blackpool after catching the head coach’s eye.
A really positive wide man, the 20-year-old might have had more opportunities after that but for getting injured.
A cryptic message posted on his Instagram recently suggested he might be ready in time for the start of pre-season, however, as he aims to impress further.
A star of Boro’s 2021 pre-season in Cornwall, it was fellow wide man