Boro’s transfer deadline day was centered around Emmanuel Latte Lath and his efforts to leave the club.
While most Middlesbrough fans likely expected a quiet end to the transfer window, Friday’s events meant it was exactly the opposite for the Teesside outfit.
The main cause of the drama was their top scorer from 2023/24 and primary number nine, Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, RB Salbruzg and AS Monaco were all linked with Latte Lath at the beginning of August.
But those links quickly died down and Boro looked set to keep the Ivorian for the 2024/25 season.
However, reports then emerged on Friday morning that Ipswich Town wanted to sign Latte Lath.
Boro News understands Middlesbrough made it clear in the last couple of weeks that they did not want to sell their big names but the striker still tried to force a move.
Middlesbrough fans send message to Emmanuel Latte Lath vs Cardiff City
Michael Carrick’s team all travelled to Wales on Friday ahead of their meeting with Cardiff City but Latte Lath did not.
However, after some talks with Carrick behind the scenes, the 25-year-old eventually made the trip.
Unsurprisingly, Latte Lath did not start on Saturday but he did come off the bench in the 70th minute.
Given his antics on deadline day, the forward may have been expecting a frosty reception from the travelling fans.
But as covered by BBC Tees Sport on X/Twitter, Latte Lath received a very positive reception from the Middlesbrough faithful.
Latte Lath return is a big boost after Delano Burgzorg struggles against Cardiff City
The return of their top scorer from last term comes as a major boost to Boro, especially after their display on Saturday.
Middlesbrough did win 2-0 but their strikers on the day were very poor.
Delano Burgzorg started up front over the weekend but greatly underperformed before being hooked with 20 minutes to play.
Tommy Conway also struggled after being deployed in a wide role by Carrick on Saturday afternoon.
Had Latte Lath indeed departed on Friday, Middlesbrough could have been left in a very tricky situation with little quality up front.
But thankfully, after the reaction from the fans in Wales, all is forgiven and Latte Lath can hopefully kick on and match his form from 2023/24.