The key questions for Carrick to solve this summer

MIDDLESBROUGH are heading into the summer transfer window with lofty ambitions as they look to strengthen their squad to give Michael Carrick the tools to get the club back to the Premier League.

Encouraged by how well Carrick did in his six months in charge, Boro are said to be planning a serious assault this year, believing with the right signings this summer everything could be in place to end the now seven-year wait for a top-flight return.

The Gazette has been told about Boro’s ambitious planning for the summer before Carrick went off on his summer break, with a transfer meeting said to have been really positive as plans were laid out for the summer rebuild.

With the window set to open on June 14, we take a look at five big questions heading into it.

The Gazette understands Boro’s ambitious recruitment model will see them target first-team-ready players this summer, much like the strategy in January.

Rather than a huge squad overhaul, the club instead want to strengthen the squad in certain key areas identified by Carrick and the recruitment team.

Carrick’s genuine trust in his current squad and his keenness to use the academy will help with the squad depth dilemma.

The ambition going into the window is to sign players the club believe are now or can be better starting options than the players at the club already, rather than signing players who might be considered a back-up option.

Of course, that starting spot will have to be earned. Genuine competition for places is key.

One key question then is what positions has Carrick identified to be in need of strengthening this summer? We had a go at making an educated guess, the loan departures leaving gaps in Boro’s squad in goal, at left-back, in midfield, out wide and upfront.

With four loanees playing regularly and becoming important in those positions, and then a need to find a long-term Jonny Howson replacement in midfield, they would appear the five most obvious positions in need of strengthening this summer.

Could there be any more? Tommy Smith was a regular under Carrick and rewarded with a new two-year deal - but might they look to upgrade on him this summer to strengthen a defence which leaked more goals than most would like?

With that defensive record in mind, might Carrick ask for a new centre-back this summer, with a potential sale of Paddy McNair or Dael Fry to raise funds and ease the wage burden?

It will be interesting at the end of the window to see the areas Carrick ultimately did decide on and where he used internal players to plug other gaps in his squad.

Chuba Akpom and Hayden Hackney’s campaigns can be the inspiration either as a player looking out of the picture or a young player looking to breakthrough that the opportunity will be given if you earn it.

Steve Gibson is ambitious and desperate to get the club back to the Premier League but has also been one of the most vocal owners in terms of the Championship’s whacky finances and the measures some clubs have taken to get around rules.

Boro CEO Neil Bausor was elected to the EFL board two years ago for that exact reason, as other clubs appreciated Boro’s stance on cleaning up the Championship and its finances.

In an ideal world, a new financial distribution model with the Premier League will be negotiated which removes the disparity created by parachute payments which cause other teams to spend beyond their means in order to remain competitive. Boro are one of a huge percentage of second-tier clubs who spend more than 100% of their yearly revenue on player wages alone.

That is sustainable for Boro because Gibson commits to funding the club on a yearly basis but as far as financial fair play rules in the Championship are concerned (known as profit and sustainability rules) owners are only allowed to put £ 20m a year in that actually counts towards FFP calculations.

Boro must comply with FFP rules or they could face sanctions such as transfer embargoes and even points deductions, as seen in recent years at other clubs. That leaves the question of how much wiggle room the club has in terms of spending power this summer?

Last summer’s sales of Djed Spence and Marcus Tavernier will have helped those calculations but the rules, often simplified in terms of reporting, are very complicated in actual fact and multi-faceted in terms of the things that apply and that don’t. Boro’s financial chiefs will of course have a clear understanding of them and as such how far the club can stretch on deals, with the wage bill perhaps the biggest factor rather than the actual fee paid for players.

While Boro will not be able to compete financially with the five clubs in receipt of parachute payments, there is genuine optimism behind the scenes at the club around the players who have been identified as summer targets and the club’s chances of landing them.

Scouting in the modern game goes into far more depth than merely what a player is capable of doing on the pitch and so we can reasonably assume the confidence heading into the summer window has some merit behind it.

Of course, there are numerous factors to make a transfer possible but one big question is whether the club really do prove as attractive a prospect to players as they believe they can be.

There are many things working in the club’s favour, the infrastructure and facilities at both the Riverside and Rockliffe Park, the fan base and general size of the club, as well as its ambition, style of play under Carrick and the reputation of the man in charge himself all things the club can use in its favour to convince players on the move to Teesside.

It remains to be seen, however, if that can prove enough when potentially there are financially bigger offers to players elsewhere. Certain players in recent years like Riley McGree and Matthew Hoppe have chosen Boro over more financially lucrative options and the hope will be that can continue.

When we talk about finances, the club could of course boost its coffers from player sales.

As noted above, the club have already lost five players in the form of loan players but do have returning loan players and potentially talented youngsters who could step up to provide depth.

The question is, could any other players leave this summer with Carrick deciding they have no future at the club? Or because the club receive an offer it deems too good to turn down?

Exits could play as big a role in determining how successful Boro are next season as incomings do.

The club’s transfer strategy now is to be prepared for every scenario and so, while some players might naturally leave to accommodate new arrivals, they will also hope to be well-placed to replace any players who might leave even if part of the plans, like Marcus Tavernier’s

Bournemouth exit last summer.

Carrick established a clear playing style for Boro last season and, unlike most bosses who take over a team in the middle of a season, had the benefit of a four-week World Cup break which acted as almost a mini pre-season in which to develop his style and instructions upon his players.

However, it should be noted Carrick was of course working with the players he had at his disposal and January only offered a small opportunity to tweak the squad.

He clearly wanted more mobility up top, for example, and was therefore able to sign Cameron Archer to have that option.

Could we see any similar changes or tweaks to style this summer? Could a new central midfielder arrive with a distinctive style which results in a change in terms of the dynamics of the midfield two?

Could a more attack-minded right-back be signed as opposed to the more defensively reliable Smith?

Will a particular style of centreforward arrive to replace Archer, or a wide man with particular strengths to improve Boro’s creativity? All interesting potentials as Boro head into the summer with a chance to refine the playing squad into one Carrick might feel is a better mould of what he would call his perfect or desired style of play.