"Sends out a terrible message" - Gary Pallister makes Latte Lath, Middlesbrough transfer claim | OneFootball

Emmanuel Latte Lath signed for Middlesbrough this season on a four-year contract with the club, plus the option of a further year, but his good form means Boro will head into this summer full of optimism, given how the 2023/24 season ended.

The 25-year-old forward is capable of playing as a striker or wide forward and has become the club's star man in attack during the second half of the campaign following his move from Italian giants Atalanta this summer. He struggled to break through into the Serie A outfit's first-team, and was sent on various loan spells, the best of which came at Swiss outfit St. Gallen last season.

Di Marzio claims that the initial fee that Boro are paying for the striker is €5 million (£4.3 million), with an extra €1.5 million (£1.3 million) in performance related add-ons that could be met in the future, so it could reach £5.6 million overall.

Latte Lath began his life at Middlesbrough with hope of continuing his sparkling form in the Swiss Super League, where he bagged an impressive 16 goals and four assists in 34 appearances, which garnered attention from Middlesbrough, who were looking for a replacement for starlet Chuba Akpom.

A similar record for Boro would help to fill the void left by Akpom, who left the club in favour of a move to Ajax in the summer, as well as losing Cameron Archer, which was a huge blow for Michael Carrick, meaning Latte Lath had big boots to fill in terms of output.

After enduring a slow start under Michael Carrick, he had to overcome some injuries and adapt to the very physical English game. He made just 11 appearances before March 2024, creating concerns that Boro would have to enter the striker market again, despite Latte Lath showing flashes of brilliance in the first half of the campaign, including a brace against Leeds at Elland Road.

However, coming back from injury then saw a huge upturn in form for Latte Lath. The striker notched 12 goals or assists in the last 14 games of the campaign in the Championship, including another three against Leeds in a 4-3 defeat at the back end of the season.

Gary Pallister's Latte Lath verdict

Since the end of the season, Latte Lath's agent, Matthias Veneroso, spoke to Sportitalia and revealed that he is anticipating interest in his client in the summer window. He said: "If I had to look at it from the point of view of maturation and what he has done this year, I can tell you that he’s ready.

"Then we’ll have to make the appropriate evaluations, bearing in mind that he has a contract with Middlesbrough, where he’s aiming to do a top-level championship and try to win the league. Having to look around is not our first objective, but we know that strikers are rare commodities and anything can happen…"

Gary Pallister played 101 times for Middlesbrough across two separate stints and he spoke to Football League World where he gave his verdict on the comments of Latte Lath's agent.

He said, speaking to Football League World on behalf of BetVictor: "It's important because he does score goals. He's a vastly improved player. I think when we first laid eyes on him, I don't think we were 100% sure. But he certainly improved tenfold over the course of the season. That's probably down to Michael Carrick and his coaching staff as well. He looked great.

"I'm not surprised his agent is saying that there'll be interest, but for the sake of the fans, you have to keep hold of him. We've lost Rogers, we've lost Akpom.

"If you were to lose another proven goalscorer, then that sends out a terrible message.

"I don't know what his contract situation is, how long he's got left on his contract, but I know from a fan's point of view, they would hate to see him leave because it would certainly disappoint a lot of the Boro faithful."

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Latte Lath's impact

The Ivorian striker has been a revelation for Middlesbrough in the 2023/24 season, lighting up the Riverside when many thought the shadow Akpom left would cast it into relative goalscoring darkness once again.

He has been an athletic and powerful frontman, and is highly capable of spearheading the Middlesbrough attack, and he would be ideal for any team searching for a strong, fast, focal point in their team.

There is bound to be some interest after his second half of the season, especially at an age where he is heading into the prime years of his career as well.