Ray Parlour gives verdict on Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough future | OneFootball

Ray Parlour believes Middlesbrough won’t have to worry about any interest in Michael Carrick this summer.

Carrick took on his first role in management when he arrived at the Riverside midway through the previous campaign.

He guided the Teesside outfit to a fourth place finish in his first season with the club, but has been unable to replicate that level of competitiveness this year.

The team is still in contention for a play-off place, but it is extremely unlikely they will overcome an eight point gap to Norwich City in their final three games.

Despite a slightly disappointing second campaign in charge at the Riverside, Carrick has previously been linked with potentially replacing David Moyes at West Ham.

Parlour has claimed that it’s unlikely Carrick will depart Boro this summer, suggesting he just needs backing in the transfer market to bring success to the club.

The 51-year-old has identified one key signing that Middlesbrough should make over the summer in order to become a play-off contender next year.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via NetBet Online Betting, Parlour said: “I don’t think so [that Carrick will leave].

“Carrick is the main for Boro and investing in the squad and keeping the top players is essential.

“I think Boro must learn from some of the defeats this season and they can be more consistent and then secure a play-off spot next season.

“One more striker coming in can really kick start a good campaign for them.

“Carrick has the credentials to succeed so I back him to stay.”

Emmanuel Latte Lath has enjoyed a promising run of goal-scoring form, bagging seven in his last nine league appearances (all stats from Fbref).

He has contributed 12 goals from 27 appearances in total this season, having signed from Atalanta last summer as a replacement for Chuba Akpom.

MIchael Carrick's Middlesbrough record

Carrick has overseen 84 games during his time in charge at the Riverside, winning 42 times.

The team failed to gain promotion to the Premier League last year following a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.

The departures of key players like Akpom, Ryan Giles, Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer also hurt the team coming into this campaign.

Keeping hold of star players like Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg this summer will also likely prove challenging.

Middlesbrough end the regular season with fixtures against Leeds United, Cardiff City and Watford, with the team currently sitting ninth in the table.

Carrick’s underwhelming second season at Middlesbrough

It’s been a disappointing year for Middlesbrough, but not all of that is down to just the manager.

The first warning signs were there in the summer when the club failed to be proactive in the market after losing key players.

The slow start to the campaign that resulted from that poor summer window has proven costly, as they had to battle from the relegation zone to try and get back to play-off contention.

If Middlesbrough can hold onto Hackney and bring in a couple more quality players to the first team, then Carrick can be the man to bring the club forward to play-off contention again.