Michael Carrick needs all of his Middlesbrough summer signings to perform if Boro are to make a proper promotion push.
Boro completed nine transfers during the most recent summer window, with some performing better than others so far.
Tommy Conway is struggling at Middlesbrough after being played out of position on the left wing or behind the number nine.
Meanwhile, a few summer additions have already stacked a claim to be key figures at the Riverside Stadium going forward.
Neto Borges did not put a foot wrong on his debut last month when Middlesbrough beat Cardiff City.
Aidan Morris, Luke Ayling and Delano Burgzorg have all shown what they will bring to the North East in 2024/25 as well.
However, after a flurry of deadline day activity, Middlesbrough fans are still waiting to see loanees Ben Doak and George Edmundson make their debuts for the club.
Michael Carrick told how to get the best out of George Edmundson
Edmundson has joined Boro on an initial six-month loan deal from Ipswich Town.
The centre-back won promotion with the Tractor Boys last season and before that spent time in Scotland with Rangers where he was dubbed ‘faultless’ by Steven Gerrard, as per the Glasgow Times.
As he was signed on August 30th, the 27-year-old is yet to make his Middlesbrough debut but Carrick has already been told how to get the best out of the stopper.
East Anglia Daily Times’ Ipswich correspondent Ross Halls, speaking to Teesside Live, has urged the Boro boss to start Edmundson in games when the opposition have a big striker as that is where he is best utilised.
He said: “There were particular games when McKenna brought Edmundson in when he thought he could do a job on a particular striker. A good example was against Hull City and Liam Delap, who Ipswich have now recently signed. We won that game 3-0 and McKenna chose to play Edmundson in that game to handle Delap because he’s a big lad, which obviously he did.
“There was probably a bit of surprise when he was named in the team for that game. But he played really well as they kept a clean sheet and it was probably their best home performance of the season.
“He’s very, very good against those big strikers, of which there are obviously a few in the Championship. Maybe against nippier strikers he can struggle a bit more, though what I would say, for how tall he is, he has got a bit of pace about him.”
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Will George Edmundson start for Middlesbrough vs Preston North End
Boro’s first Championship fixture after the September international break sees them take on Preston North End on September 14th.
Ahead of the game, Middlesbrough are still assessing the fitness of several senior centre-backs, including Rav van den Berg.
Should the Dutchman not be passed fit, Carrick will have the option of starting Luke Ayling out of position alongside Matt Clarke, as he has done recently, or hand Edmundson his Boro debut.
Preston have predominantly played with two centre-forwards this season – Emil Riis Jakobsen and Will Keane.
Keane stands at 6ft 2 tall while Jakobsen is just over 6ft 3. In turn, a physical battle is expected at the Riverside meaning it could be the perfect game for Edumndson to earn his first start for the Teessiders.
However, if Van den Berg is back fit, Carrick will probably opt to start him over Edmundson simply because of the partnership he has already formed with Clarke.