How Emmanuel Latte Lath got on in his first game for Atlanta United after leaving Middlesbrough | OneFootball

The striker moved to the MLS in January, and here's how he got on in his first outing across the Atlantic.

After leaving Middlesbrough in January, Emmanuel Latte Lath enjoyed a superb debut for Atlanta United last weekend, netting two goals in their win over Montreal.

Despite being pegged back twice, Atlanta scored late to edge to a 3-2 victory over their Canadian visitors, with Latte Lath having scored his side’s first two goals.

It was the Ivorian’s first outing in the MLS, having made the switch across the Atlantic in January for £22.5million – a record fee received by Middlesbrough.

Boro moved quickly to bring in former Manchester City and Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho on loan from Sevilla, but so far, they have struggled badly in the absence of Latte Lath.

Emmanuel Latte Lath has made an impressive start to his MLS career

Plenty of players from both the English and European game have had spells with clubs in the MLS over the years, with varying degrees of success.

However, if his debut last Sunday is anything to go by, Latte Lath looks set to be a star in North America. He's certainly earned himself lots of early praise out in the US.

The striker has been prolific since leaving Italian side Atalanta to move to the Riverside Stadium back in 2023, and he ended his Boro career with a return of 27 goals from 59 Championship games.

And, with 11 league goals to his name already by January this season, it was no surprise to see him attracting interest from several clubs during the winter window.

Despite having been linked with the likes of Leeds, Leicester and West Ham at the start of the window, the frontman perhaps surprisingly ended up in the MLS, with Middlesbrough netting a club-record fee in the process.

The 26-year-old wasn’t Atlanta’s only high-profile purchase this January either – they also brought winger Miguel Almiron back to the club from Newcastle.

Having already scored two crucial goals for his club in the opening game of their new season, it would be no surprise at all to Latte Lath among the names at the top of the league’s goalscoring charts by the end of the campaign.

Middlesbrough have struggled without Emmanuel Latte Lath

While Latte Lath has made a superb start at his new club, Middlesbrough’s fortunes since he left have been the exact opposite.

The Ivorian made his final appearance in the Championship in the 2-1 defeat away to Preston North End on 25th January. Since then, Michael Carrick’s side have won just once from five games in the league.

That victory came on Tuesday night when a 3-1 away victory over Stoke City brought their five-game losing run to a welcome close.

That losing run has seen Carrick come under pressure from the fanbase, arguably for the first time since he took over almost two-and-a-half years ago.

Their struggles of late haven’t been helped by the fact that new signing Iheanacho, brought in as Latte Lath’s short-term replacement, is yet to be involved in a goal, having made three appearances already.

The extremely tight nature of the Championship’s play-off race this term means that Boro remain handily placed, just four points outside the top six. However, their poor form of late has certainly left them with work to do.