Michael Carrick has shared his thoughts on one Middlesbrough star ahead of their upcoming meeting with Bristol City.
With the October international break finally over, Boro fans can turn their attention back toward the league season.
Middlesbrough’s upcoming Championship fixture sees them play host to Bristol City on Saturday in a 3pm kick-off at the Riverside Stadium.
The Teessiders go into the weekend’s action ninth in the Championship table while Bristol are down in 16th place.
Ahead of the match, one EFL pundit has predicted Middlesbrough to beat Bristol City despite the fact they did the double over Boro in the 2023/24 campaign and have picked up six wins against the Teessiders in their last seven meetings.
If the North East outfit are to end their unwanted run against Bristol, they will need to be at their best with one player in particular needing to improve a fair bit.
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Michael Carrick gives verdict on Middlesbrough left-back Neto Borges
Ahead of taking on Bristol, the Middlesbrough manager spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Carrick provided an injury update on Tommy Conway, who missed the defeat to Watford and also Scotland’s games over the October break as a result.
Elsewhere in his presser, the ex-midfielder was asked for his thoughts on how summer signing Neto Borges has settled in.
Borges was ‘exposed’ during Sunderland vs Middlesbrough last month and his defensive ability, or lack thereof, allowed Watford to score their equaliser earlier in October.
Despite his struggles defensively, however, Carrick believes that the Brazilian has done ‘very well’ since arriving from France.
He said: “Neto’s doing really well. I think it’s obviously a big change but I think he’s played very well actually and adapted and physically handled the games fine and improving all the time in terms of understanding of each other and those around him.
“I’m really pleased with him. I think he’s adapted fine, it’s how he plays so we’re not asking him to do anything different honestly, I think he’s doing fine.”
Neto Borges Middlesbrough struggles may not be his fault
Despite the positive verdict from Carrick, Borges has clearly struggled at times since his move to Middlesbrough.
He was dominated by Sunderland’s Patrick Roberts and looked far from his best when Boro blew their 1-0 lead against Tom Cleverley’s men.
However, Borges is not the only left-back struggling on Teesside this term, with Lukas Engel also putting in some questionable displays.
That may not be 100 percent down to the player’s ability though, with it clear Carrick’s left-backs need more support from the left-winger.
The Middlesbrough boss has his left-backs push very high up the pitch but unless their left-sided partner is willing to chip in with defensive work, they are often left exposed defensively.
So far, Riley McGree is the only winger seemingly capable of taking up that role, with Boro keeping three clean sheets in the three games the Austrialin has started in the league this season.
Should McGree miss out against Bristol City, however, it is likely to be another tough afternoon for Borges.