Middlesbrough have 24/25 wildcard giving Michael Carrick food for thought: View | OneFootball

The former Brentford striker, Alex Gilbert, is showing that he is ready to play a bigger role in Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough squad next season.

With young and inexperienced players, throwing them in the deep end before they're ready to swim can be a recipe for knocking a player's confidence.

Sometimes, patience - as frustrating and challenging as it can be for everyone - really is a virtue, as Middlesbrough striker Alex Gilbert is beginning to prove.

The 22-year-old was signed for a reported £1m last summer, a significant fee considering he'd only made 14 senior career appearances with Swindon Town and Brentford respectively, prior to making his move to Teesside.

After opting against heading out on loan this season, Gilbert has ensured he's always remained in the eyesight of his manager, waiting to receive the nod of first-team approval.

And now, after a handful of assists preceded his first Middlesbrough goal in Boro's penultimate fixture of the season, the youngster has made his case for an expanded role moving forward.

Gilbert is giving Carrick food for thought

It has been made evident through his lack of game time this season, that Gilbert has largely been believed to be some way off being ready for the cut and thrust of first-team football at the Riverside.

Indeed, after making his debut last September with an 18-minute cameo in a League Cup tie at Bradford, the former Republic of Ireland youth international would have to wait until late February of this year to receive anything more than 10 minutes on the pitch in a game, per FotMob.

And that was to be expected, as his arrival came with the pretext of being one for the future, as Boro fans' expectations were tempered as to how much they'd see of him this year.

But with lingering play-off chances being put to bed with games still to play, it has offered the Boro boss a chance to tinker with his squad, and hand minutes to young and fringe players in order to see what stage they're at in their respective developments.

Out of that crop of players, none have stepped forward out of the shadows more emphatically than Gilbert, as he's shown his ability to impact games with minimal time on the pitch.

His emergence could spell danger to others

Gilbert appears to be a versatile ball of clay, that Carrick and his coaching squad can mould into a dynamic forward option that can plug any gap they need him to.

That should send shivers down the spines of certain Boro players such as Sam Greenwood, Samuel Silvera and perhaps even Josh Coburn respectively, as their places in Carrick's future plans on Teesside remain unclear.

Greenwood, for instance, has the same number of assists as Gilbert heading into the final weekend of the Championship season, despite playing 20x the amount of minutes as his Boro teammate.

As such, Gilbert makes a fairly compelling case for being a better option going forward than the Leeds loanee, whilst the manner in which he dispatched his goal sending a clear message that he knows where the back of the net is.

Gilbert: "I'm ready for this level"

The 22-year-old attacker sat down in an honest interview with BBC Tees via Teesside Live recently, as the forward opened up on his first season as a Middlesbrough player.

Gilbert would say: "I've had to wait for a bit to get that first start but all the lads encouraged me before the game and just gave me the confidence to go out there and do what I know I can do.

"I wouldn’t say I was too nervous. I feel like I’m ready for this level now. Obviously I’ve trained all season with the lads so I know I’m at the level. I feel confident in training, it was just about going out there and doing it actually in front of a crowd.

"I’ve had to wait and it's been tough mentally. It hasn’t been easy but I was around a good group of lads who’ve advised me along the way. I was definitely hoping to play more than I have, but all I can do is wait for my opportunity and keep my attitude right, which I like to think I have done, and then take the opportunity when it came.

"Obviously I’ve been imagining that moment for a long time. Hopefully there’s plenty more of them to come and I’ve impressed the gaffer enough so I can play the next game and then I can set myself up for next season by coming back sharp for pre-season and trying to kick on from there."

2024/25 feels like a big year, then, both for Boro and Gilbert.