"Cash in" - Bold Middlesbrough FC transfer claim issued ahead of January amid West Ham interest | OneFootball

FLW's Boro fan pundit believes that Emmanuel Latte Lath could leave the club in January for the right price

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 star striker Emmanuel Latte Lath has been identified as a player that could look to leave the Riverside Stadium in the January transfer window, due to previous interest from the Premier League and the strong recent form of fellow frontman Tommy Conway.

Latte Lath joined Boro last summer on a four-year deal from Serie A side Atalanta, and enjoyed a fruitful debut season in English football under Michael Carrick, as he netted 18 goals in 36 games in all competitions.

The Ivorian striker subsequently attracted serious interest from newly-promoted Premier League outfit Ipswich Town late in the summer window, but stayed on Teesside, and has more recently been linked with a potential move to both West Ham United.

He started this season slowly in front of goal for Carrick's side, with just one strike in the opening 10 league games, but has begun to net at a much improved rate in recent weeks, as the January window and another month of speculation around his future draws ever closer.

Emmanuel Latte Lath mooted with possible January exit by Boro fan pundit

Latte Lath's talents at Championship level have been made very clear by now, and while there may have been some skepticism around his arrival last August for a reported fee of £4.2m, it is almost certain that Boro will profit heavily from his departure in the future, whether that be in January or not.

The 25-year-old took to life in the second-tier relatively slowly, but the back end of last season saw him turn on the style and become a key player in Carrick's side as he won April's Championship Player of the Month award, and his impressive form unsurprisingly alerted teams with a higher standing than the Riverside club to his availability throughout the summer.

While his slow start was repeated once again this term, he has registered an impressive five goals and two assists in his last six league outings, but is still struggling to nail down a starting berth for Boro, with £4.5m summer signing Tommy Conway mostly preferred at centre-forward by Carrick so far.

As a result of Latte Lath's previous interest from the top-flight, and the fact that he has started just three of Middlesbrough's last nine games, our Boro fan pundit, Phil Spencer, has issued concerns that the Ivorian may wish to leave next month, after we asked him for a player at the club who may be desperate for a move away in January.

“The player who I am most worried about wanting a move away from Middlesbrough in January is Emmanuel Latte Lath," Phil told FLW.

“I don’t necessarily know if he will be completely itching for a move away, but obviously the final day of the summer window saw a fair bit of speculation linking him with a move to Ipswich Town.

“They came in with a bid for him, and Latte Lath seemed to have his head turned. It’s taken a little while for him to get his head back in the game, it seems.

“His performances have been really good for Middlesbrough. He’s proven himself to be a really reliable goal threat for the club, and one of our two really in-form strikers.

“I think the fact that Tommy Conway perhaps seems to have the edge in terms of being Michael Carrick’s first-choice striker at the moment does leave me a little bit concerned about what is to come in January.

“Whether it is potentially that, should another Premier League club come in for Latte Lath, Boro could have another similar situation to when Ipswich came in.

“I know West Ham have been heavily linked with him, so Emmanuel Latte Lath is certainly a player that I think could attract some interest in January.

“Should that interest turn into a formal bid, and match our expectations, then perhaps he is the sort of player that could be sold on.

“That would be a real disappointment for Middlesbrough, because a lot of fans really like what he contributes on the pitch.

“Ultimately, if he has had his head turned in the summer, and sees himself playing in the Premier League and not wanting to see out the season with Boro, then the best thing they can do is cash in and get as much money for him as possible.”

It wouldn't be a shock if Latte Lath is on the radar of Premier League clubs in January

Given his impressive form towards the end of last season, and Boro's subsequent failure to reach the play-offs in eighth place, it came as no surprise that speculation around Latte Lath's future was a huge talking point throughout the summer window, yet it was only in late August that the Teessiders first received a concrete approach for his services.

Wolves were first reported with interest in his signature in early August, alongside Monaco, Red Bull Salzburg and Stuttgart, but the Northern Echo reiterated Boro's stance of Latte Lath not being for sale, unless they received an eye-watering offer that would be too good to turn down.

Said offer came too late in the window, as Ipswich made a last-gasp £20m bid for the Ivorian on Deadline Day, and he soon found himself at the centre of a dramatic late summer transfer saga after he had initially not travelled with his teammates for Boro's away clash at Cardiff City the day after, but the club turned down the Tractor Boys' approach, having dismissed previous proposals short of their valuation.

His form this season has been inconsistent, but that has seemingly not put West Ham off a possible January move, as journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claimed that Hammers scouts were present to watch him bag a hat-trick at Oxford United last month.

It is clear that he is set to be tracked into the new year by numerous clubs, with his potential to improve even further and real clinical ability in front of goal making him an attractive prospect to top-flight teams in real need of more striker depth.

While Boro supporters will not want to see Latte Lath leave, the emergence of Conway and the Ivorian's recent lack of opportunities in the starting eleven could make January the perfect time for the club to cash in and net a huge profit to re-invest into Carrick's squad, in the hope of achieving a top six finish this season.