Middlesbrough will need the player to be in top form if they are to secure promotion from the Championship.
The 2023/24 campaign was somewhat disappointing for Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick.
Boro finished fourth during the ex-Manchester United star’s debut season at the Riverside Stadium.
The Teessiders lost the play-off semi-final to Coventry City but big things were then expected of the club in the previous campaign, with some talk of automatic promotion.
However, Middlesbrough ended 2023/24 sat eighth in the division, four points outside the top six.
There were several reasons why the North East outfit failed to match or even better their finish from the year prior.
One was injury issues, as Carrick had to deal with an average of 6.5 senior players missing every gameweek last term.
Another was their 2023 summer transfer window, which saw key players like Chuba Akpom, Ryan Giles and Cameron Archer depart.
Middlesbrough star can be ‘unstoppable’ in 2024/25
In a bid to replace their key stars, Middlesbrough signed a plethora of new players last year.
However, trying to embed so many new additions at the same time proved difficult and Boro’s form suffered.
The Reds failed to win their opening five league games of 2023/24, while several signings struggled to find their feet.
One such player was Emmanuel Latte Lath, who failed to match the attacking output of the man he was brought in to replace, Akpom.
But the Ivorian eventually settled in and ended last season with 11 goals in his last 12 Championship appearances.
Now, EFL pundit Ryan Dilks, speaking on the Second Tier Podcast, has backed Latte Lath to be ‘unstoppable’ in 2024/25.
He said: “Last season was disappointing. They did have a lot of injuries they also didn’t properly recover from letting players go.
“But they did get better as the season went on, particularly in front of goal which was a big problem when they were creating as many chances as they were but couldn’t put them away.
“Well, now they’ve got Emmanuel Latte Lath, a man who got better as the season went on after a poor start and finished with 11 goals in 12 games.
“He could be unstoppable this season if that form were to continue into this season.”
Why Middlesbrough cannot rely on Emmanuel Latte Lath
Unfortunately for Boro, they may not be able to rely on their top scorer going into 2024/25.
Middlesbrough may need to replace Latte Lath this summer after links to Wolverhampton Wanders and a couple of European clubs.
The Teessiders currently have Josh Coburn as a backup to the Ivorian, but he only scored five goals in 21 league matches in 2023/24.
New signing Delano Burgzorg is another potential centre-forward option for Carrick, but he looks set to be used on the left wing as competition for Riley McGree.
Middlesbrough want to sign Tommy Conway from Bristol City and appear to have the edge in that race ahead of Burnley and Hull City.
Conway scored 10 times for City in the league last term but his ability to replace Latte Lath is somewhat questionable.
Should Latte Lath remain at Middlesbrough, his form from the end of 2023/24 suggests he could finish the campaign as the top scorer in the Championship, which would massively boost Boro’s promotion chances.
But transfer interest from around Europe this week means Carrick may have to make do without his current number nine going into 2024/25.