Five key issues Middlesbrough have resolve as quickly as possible

MICHAEL CARRICK’S FUTURE

This is the big one. Do Boro stick with Michael Carrick and back him to mount a more successful promotion push next season? Or, after almost three full campaigns at the helm, do they decide it is time for a change?

Ultimately, the decision rests with Steve Gibson, who remains the key powerbroker at the club, assisted and advised by chief executive Neil Bausor and head of football Kieran Scott.

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA) Two months ago, Carrick’s future was called into doubt as Boro began to slide down the table, only for Gibson to come out in support of the head coach. The Boro chairman has formed a strong relationship with Carrick, and regards the former England international as an ideal figurehead for his club.

However, Boro’s on-pitch struggles became even more acute in the final stages of the season, when they won just one of their final six games. If Gibson was to decide to change his boss, a number of viable candidates are currently out of work. Steve Cooper and Gary O’Neil have both been strongly linked with Boro in the past, and are available.

BACKROOM STAFF

If Carrick remains in charge, is there an argument that he would benefit from a refresh of his backroom team? Aaron Danks left to join Bayern Munich last summer, and while Carrick’s brother, Graeme, was poached from Newcastle United, where he had been working in the Magpies’ academy set-up, that was hardly a like-for-like replacement.

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Carrick clearly respects and trusts his assistant, Jonathan Woodgate, and Grant Leadbitter has taken on a more senior role within the first-team group this season. Carrick almost certainly would not push for a reshuffle himself, but would Gibson and Scott be prepared to bring someone in anyway and effectively impose him on their current head coach?

Michael Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate (Image: Tom Banks) And if Carrick was to leave his post, who would depart with him? Presumably, his brother, but would Woodgate and Leadbitter be retained to create a sense of continuity? Or if Carrick is dismissed, would it be better to present his successor with an entirely clean slate?

HOWSON/DIJKSTEEL

Jonny Howson and Anfernee Dijksteel are both due to reach the end of their current contracts next month. Will Boro attempt to retain either?

Carrick was non-committal in the wake of Saturday’s defeat at Coventry, although he did suggest that discussions would take place this week.

Howson turns 37 later this month, but he ended the season in Boro’s starting side and was arguably the club’s best defender in the final month of the campaign. Given his long-established leadership qualities, there is definitely an argument that he has earned a new 12-month deal. The indications are that he wants to continue playing, although ultimately, that is a call that only he can make.

Middlesbrough skipper Jonny Howson (Image: Tom Banks) Dijksteel was a peripheral figure for much of the season, although once Luke Ayling suffered an injury, he became Boro’s first-choice right-back and started the last 14 matches of the campaign. He performed reasonably well in a number of those games, but Boro’s recruitment team might well conclude there are likely to be better right-back options on the market this summer.

JOSH COBURN

What are Boro going to do with Josh Coburn. The striker spent the season on loan at Millwall, scoring five goals in 14 Championship starts and six substitute appearances as the Lions finished two places above Boro in the table.

Millwall boss Alex Neil has publicly stated his desire to sign Coburn on a permanent basis on a number of occasions, and the London club are expected to table a formal offer at an early stage of the summer.

Josh Coburn has spent the season on loan at Millwall (Image: PA) Coburn is halfway through his current four-year deal, meaning he is tied to the Riverside until the summer of  2027. As a result, his value is probably at its peak. Should Boro cash in now, accepting that Coburn is unlikely to ever be a first-choice forward on Teesside? Or, with Kelechi Iheanacho returning to Sevilla after an unsuccessful loan move, could Coburn, who does no turn 23 until December, prove a valuable player next season?

RECRUITMENT

Whoever is in charge, this is going to be a crucial summer of transfer activity for Boro. Selling Emmanuel Latte Lath for £22.5m in January made financial sense, but the time has come to reinvest the money.

The purchase of a new forward has to be a priority, and it will be interesting to see if Boro rekindle their interest in David Strelec, the Slovakian striker who was very much on their radar in January.

There is a Ben Doak-shaped hole on the right-hand side that needs filling, as well as a need to strengthen in both full-back positions. Goalkeeper is also an issue, with Mark Travers’ future uncertain following the end of his loan move and Sol Brynn still to really prove himself as a regular Championship number one.

Mark Travers’ future is uncertain as his loan deal reaches its end (Image: Tom Banks) Then, there is the Hayden Hackney question. With Premier League clubs sniffing around the midfielder, and Porto expected to return to the table after having bids rejected in January, will Boro be able to hold on to their homegrown talisman?