"Seemed obvious" - Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick's January transfer mistake | OneFootball

Boro's transfer strategy has been criticised amid defender's performances.

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…

Middlesbrough's hopes of promotion are dissipating in front of their very eyes, having lost four Championship games on the bounce.

After their most recent defeat, a 1-0 home loss to Watford, Michael Carrick's side are now down to 11th and are crucially four points adrift of West Bromwich Albion in sixth.

One player who has come in for substantial criticism is Luke Ayling, who has endured a torrid run of form at right-back.

Questions have been asked about why Carrick did not bring in an upgrade in January, with his decision not to recruit coming under scrutiny from Boro supporters.

Michael Carrick paying the price for not recruiting a right-back

Boro's focus in the winter window was mainly on acquiring forward players, with Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Iling-Junior and Morgan Whittaker arriving at the Riverside Stadium, while Emmanuel Latte Lath departed for the United States.

However, FLW's fan pundit, Jasper Hudson, said it was clear the club needed to strengthen at right-back when asked if Middlesbrough would regret not signing a new right-back in January.

"I don't think it's a position Carrick cared about," Jasper told Football League World.

"He obviously liked attacking options, and we signed plenty of attacking options, so whether Carrick wanted a right-back or not, we'll never know, but it seemed obvious.

"Ayling's okay as a back-up but not great. Dijksteel's a good starter but still not amazing, so we could maybe have signed a more senior option there.

"If we knew that Dijksteel was going to be out injured, then why didn't we try and get a loan done? That's my kind of thinking on that."

Ayling joined Boro on a permanent deal from Leeds United last summer, having spent the second half of last season on loan from the Yorkshire outfit.

It was hoped that the 33-year-old's experience would play a crucial part in the club's promotion push, but instead, his performances have led to criticism.

"Luke Ayling isn't good enough to start anymore," Jasper added. "He's fallen off his levels of performance so rapidly compared to last season."

Middlesbrough have faced some tricky opponents in recent weeks, with Ayling struggling to cope with the quality posed on the opposing wing.

Against Sunderland, Enzo Le Fee turned the former Leeds man to dust before delivering a lethal cross which led to the winning goal for the Black Cats.

A week prior, Ayling was part of a defensive horror show, which led to Emil Riis Jakobsen scoring the winning goal for Preston North End.

At 33, Ayling has entered the twilight of his career, and it has been evident that the defender is struggling to keep pace with the Championship's danger men.