Middlesbrough: Michael Carrick may need Kieran Scott to repeat Everton deal | OneFootball

Mo Besic became a cult figure on Teesside due to his passion and no-nonsense displays, and Carrick may be in need of a similar player in January.

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick is having to contend with injury blows to a number of his key central midfielders, and that could force head of football Kieran Scott to complete a January deal to bolster Boro's options in that department.

Carrick's excellent central midfield pairing of Hayden Hackney and Aidan Morris has been disbanded due to both players being struck down through injury during the November international break.

As a result, Boro are down to the bare bones in their engine room, with 36-year-old Jonny Howson and Dan Barlaser the only natural remaining central midfielders for the Middlesbrough boss to call upon in their absence.

With Howson out of contract at the end of the season and likely not as capable of playing 90 minutes multiple times a week as he has done so brilliantly for Boro over the years, and the potential for summer interest in Barlaser to resurface in January, the club may well need to make somewhat of an emergency addition in the middle of the park.

If that is to be the case, Scott and Carrick should take inspiration from a January loan signing made in 2018, that saw a certain Bosnian become a cult figure on Teesside...

Muhamed Besic was an excellent January addition for Boro in 2018

Initially signed on a short-term loan until the end of the 2017/18 season from Premier League side Everton, it didn't take long for Muhamed Besic to become an instant favourite at the Riverside.

Then 25, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international had racked up over 50 appearances for the Toffees, and was seen as a significant coup for then Boro boss Tony Pulis, as the club completed the deal with an hour to spare on Deadline Day.

Besic's performances in a Middlesbrough shirt during the second half of the 2017/18 season would see him shoot to cult status among the Boro support, as his passion, energy and no-nonsense approach to every minute of every game adhered him to the fans.

The Bosnian was a real warrior in the red and white, and played with a level of desire and commitment to the cause that is not always seen from players who've only signed on for a couple of months.

As a result, Middlesbrough supporters were desperate to see Besic signed on a permanent deal in the summer of 2018. Whilst that never materialised, they did get the next best thing, as he put pen to paper on a season-long loan move that would see him remain in the North East for the duration of the 2018/19 campaign.

Whilst his best Boro performances mostly came during his first spell with the club, Besic continued to put in consistently solid performances for Middlesbrough in his second stint, and is still fondly remembered on Teesside as a real cult figure.

Boro may be in need of Besic's bite and energy come January

Middlesbrough could find themselves needing an injection of energy in the heart of midfield come January for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Howson and Barlaser - whilst both are very capable and proven Championship players - operate at a slightly slower tempo than Morris and Hackney in particular, with the latter pairing being more box-to-box, high-intensity players.

Because Boro have enjoyed so much success and looked so dominant in the centre of midfield with those two, Carrick may feel as though he could do with another player of that profile to be the third-choice option.

That's not to say that Howson and Barlaser don't play with a high work-rate, they do, it's simply that winning the ball back high up the pitch and non-stop movement is such a big part of his system, and the former pairing may not be able to offer as much of that as what he gets from the latter.

Even when Hackney and Morris do eventually return, they have been playing a lot of football, and the nature of a Championship season always sees fatigue come into play, especially at the business end of the season.