Middlesbrough: Steve Gibson stance on selling trio revealed amid links to Tottenham, Liverpool | OneFootball

Michael Carrick's focus is on retaining key assets as well as signing them.

Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson is reportedly "bullish" about holding on to key players Rav van den Berg, Hayden Hackney, and Emmanuel Latte Lath this summer.

Boro have been one of the more active Championship sides in the early days of the summer window, with two signings already confirmed, and a third expected soon.

Luke Ayling prolonged his stay at the Riverside stadium, following his loan spell with the club in the latter half of last season, and subsequent release by parent club Leeds United.

Former Huddersfield Town loanee Delano Burgzorg has also signed for Michael Carrick's side on a four-year deal.

Columbus Crew midfielder Aidan Morris is set to be the third addition of the summer window. Boro have agreed a £3 million fee for the 22-year-old American international, according to The Athletic.

Business shouldn't stop there. There is likely to be more focus applied to recruiting at the top end of the pitch, while defender Ryan Giles is a player that Boro are said to be keeping tabs on, as per the Northern Echo.

Even with all the focus on improving the squad, those at the Riverside are well aware of the threat that they face from clubs trying to poach their best players too, but they seem confident on that front as well.

Middlesbrough confident of keeping trio

The Northern Echo have reported that the club are confident that van den Berg, Hackney, and Latte Lath will all be Boro players by the time we get to September - with Gibson thought to be "bullish" about that stance.

Middlesbrough's England under-21 international has been the subject of Premier League interest, with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur being reported as two of the potential suitors.

As for the other two, the club's head of football, Kieran Scott, is confident that van den Berg will stay in Teesside for at least one more season, as per the Northern Echo, and a mammoth offer would be the only thing that would tempt the club to consider letting go of their Ivorian forward.

Latte Lath arrived at the Riverside less than a year ago from this season's Europa League winners, Atalanta. The Italian side negotiated a deal worth £5.6 million, according to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Championship club for the forward. He ended the season with 11 goals in his last dozen games.

Middlesbrough are starting to build a real contender

History has taught us that Michael Carrick is a good enough manager to lead a team that competes high up the league. They finished fourth two seasons ago, before losing to Coventry City in the play-off semi-final, and were only four points and a six-goal deficit in goal difference off of the top six.

There are certainly some of the foundations already in that team to build a strong second tier side, and the additions that have been, and will be, made will only increase their chances.

They do need to add depth in the attacking areas of the pitch because of the injury issues that their current two main strikers, Latte Lath and Josh Coburn, faced last time out. Boro are also looking to move on striker Matthew Hoppe, which, if done, would create even more need for depth in the position.

There should be trust in Carrick, and the signs from the early additions are positive, on the whole. A continuation of this theme, and holding onto the aforementioned trio, could set up a very exciting season on Teeside.