"Be a killer" - Middlesbrough's Ben Doak, Liverpool fear voiced ahead of January transfer window | OneFootball

The Reds loanee has been a shining light during his time at The Riverside

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

The 24/25 campaign has been a familiar story for Middlesbrough of late, with the Teessiders struggling to find much in the way of consistency during the first three months of the season - though a 4-1 victory over QPR on Tuesday night marked a return to form.

Michael Carrick’s side have struggled to put any real runs of form together so far, with the month of October emphasising as much, with two wins, two defeats, and a single draw from their five outings.

With the January transfer window slowly getting closer on the horizon, thoughts will be turning towards activity at the club when 2025 gets underway, with the month of business likely to have a huge effect on the Championship season.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s resident Boro fan Jasper Hudson about his expectations in the mid-season window, and what he would demand from the powers that be at the Riverside.

Keeping Ben Doak can define Middlesbrough’s season

Anyone who has set eyes on this Boro side this season will have been impressed by the talents of Liverpool loanee Ben Doak, with the 18-year-old exciting The Riverside faithful with his energetic displays on the right wing.

The teenager’s exuberance and creativity in the final third has caused mayhem during his time on the pitch this season, with second-tier defenders finding the challenge of keeping him quiet tough to deal with.

After netting the first goal of his professional career against Stoke City in September, the speedster continues to thrive within this Boro side, and it is no surprise to see that Hudson wants his side to keep hold of him for the remainder of the season at all costs.

When asked about his demands of the club at the start of next year, the Boro fan pundit said: “The main thing is to make sure that Ben Doak doesn’t leave, because that would be a killer to our season.

“Ben Doak has to stay the remainder of the season if we want to challenge anywhere near the top half, he has made that much of a difference.”

While Liverpool boss Arne Slot has joked about bringing the teenager back, but reports suggest he will be at The Riverside until May as it stands, which would leave Boro fans breathing a sigh of relief when February comes around and he is still at the club.

Middlesbrough warned against unnecessary January transfers

After recent victories against QPR, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion, there is no question that Carrick has a quality side at his disposal this season, although getting them to show it week in, week out has been the biggest problem of late.

Those wins were peppered in between defeats to the likes of Watford, Bristol City, and Coventry City within the last few weeks, while a two-goal advantage was thrown away in a 3-3 draw with Norwich City.

The North East outfit have proven they have what it takes to compete against the best that the division has to offer, leaving Hudson of the opinion that any additions need to be well-thought-out, rather than for the sake of it.

The Boro fan pundit continued: “I think in January we need to be careful not to just sign players for the sake of it.

“I think on the whole our squad is very good at the minute, we have got all bases covered; we have got depth, we have got quality players, so it is looking at whether there are any good loans we can take and not spending unnecessarily.

“I think potentially we could be open to a few offers in January, but it is hard to say at the minute if any will come in, and you never know what injuries will be around at the time, so it is about making sure that we don’t weaken too much, but also that we don’t add unnecessary players.”