Middlesbrough: Shrewd Michael Carrick recruitment on show v Cardiff City - View | OneFootball

Neto Borges made his Middlesbrough debut in Boro's 2-0 win over Cardiff City, with his display suggesting Carrick has found the answer at left-back.

Neto Borges made his Middlesbrough debut in a 2-0 away win over Cardiff City, and his performance should give Boro boss Michael Carrick belief that the Brazilian is the answer to his left-back conundrum.

The 27-year-old arrived from French Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot in the final days of the summer transfer window, in a deal worth a reported £1.3m.

Having been named in Get French Football News' 2022/23 team of the year at the left-back spot, beating PSG and Portugal international Nuno Mendes to that honour, Borges is a player with impressive pedigree.

But despite playing in numerous top leagues across Europe and back in his homeland of Brazil, transitioning to English football isn't easy, with patience expected to be required by Middlesbrough in order to see the best of him.

However, Borges' performance in Boro's win over the Bluebirds suggests that the former Clermont defender may not need much time to settle in, and has perhaps already provided the answer to Carrick's left-back problem.

Borges puts in classy performance in Boro debut

Middlesbrough's new recruit would've been forgiven had he put in a sub-par performance on debut, but Borges put in a display that looked like he'd been operating on Boro's left flank for years.

Playing the full 90 minutes, Borges cut a calm and assured figure at the back, whilst evidencing an all-round game that suggests he is perhaps more of a complete player than Engel is at the current stage of their respective careers.

That's perhaps to be expected too, as the Brazilian wouldn't have been able to put in back-to-back impressive seasons playing against some of the best forwards in world football with Clermont, had he not been defensively sound.

Perhaps an indication as to how stifling he was to Cardiff's attack, right-winger Yakou Meite was withdrawn at half-time to be replaced by Ollie Tanner, but he too got very little joy out of Borges in the second half.

Communication and understanding of your role is always a difficult thing to grasp quickly for players new to a side, but Borges looked to be singing off the same hymn sheet as his Boro teammates straight away, getting the press right and rarely being caught out of position.

With the international break offering the chance for the left-back to get further acquainted with his peers and Carrick's system, Borges should only get better in the weeks and months to come - a very exciting prospect given how impressive he was on debut.

Boro hitting Borges home run could be key to promotion chances

Problem positions have been the Achilles heel in many a promotion bid, with once highly promising seasons wandering off course due to injuries and exploitation of weak spots by opposing sides.

Middlesbrough experienced that first-hand last season, with a fairly unprecedented injury crisis playing a leading role in Boro falling just short of a play-off place.

With such a talented squad at his disposal, Carrick knows he can ill-afford to see history repeat itself this season, with the Teessiders looking to have all the pieces to complete the promotion puzzle.

But in a sea of attacking talent and defensive might, the left-back position emerged as a potential area in the side that could be exposed as the season progresses, especially after a serious injury to Alex Bangura on the eve of the new campaign.

That left Engel as the only senior option to fill the position, with academy graduate George McCormick acting as his backup. Engel endured a topsy-turvy debut season in the North East last term, with it being fair to say that he still had a long way to go to convince large sections of the fanbase that he is good enough to start.

So, upon being hit with the Bangura blow, Boro fans understandably grew concerned with their left-back options, but Borges may well have eased those concerns for many Teessiders.

Should he continue to improve, shoring up that key part of Middlesbrough's defence could well ensure that Boro's defence becomes a tough nut to crack.

It will also allow Engel to be taken out of the spotlight momentarily, which is something that worked to his and Boro's benefit when Carrick did exactly that last season.