Matt Clarke has enjoyed a superb start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign with Middlesbrough.
Boro head into the September international break sat seventh in the Championship table after four games.
Middlesbrough kicked off their campaign by beating Swansea City 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium, ending a run of 10 years without a win on the opening weekend.
Their form has been mixed since that victory, with a 2-0 win over Cardiff City coming after a shock 1-0 defeat to Derby County and a 2-2 draw with another recently promoted team, Portsmouth.
While the North East outfit as a squad have struggled somewhat during the early stages of 2024/25, Matt Clarke has been sensational.
Clarke arrived on Teesside from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2022, originally brought in as a backup defender.
The 27-year-old went on to feature just six times in 2022/23 thanks to a long-term injury.
However, Clarke played his way into the team in the latter half of the previous campaign and has continued to excel this season.
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Michael Carrick reveals man behind Matt Clarke success
Michael Carrick has been forced to deal with an injury crisis at the back this season, with three of his four senior centre-backs currently out injured.
George Edmundson has now arrived on loan from Ipswich Town to ease some of that burden but so far, Clarke has been relied upon heavily to take charge of Boro’s backline.
While there have been some errors early this term, Clarke has consistently performed to a high standard and after netting versus Cardiff City, is the club’s top scorer with two goals in four.
Clarke was praised heavily after Middlesbrough beat Cardiff, with one pundit dubbing him ‘the most underrated defender in the league’.
Now, as per Teesside Live, Carrick has revealed that former Boro captain turned coach, Grant Leadbitter, has been working closely with Clarke in training.
He said: “He’s [Clarke] been fabulous. Two big goals over the last week is an added bonus and is something the players and Grant [Leadbitter] have worked on a lot.
“We knew he defends well, and defends the box specifically really well. He’s had a great impact with us and I’m really pleased for him.
“To get the goal gets him a bit of extra recognition as well, which might even make him smile!”
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Matt Clarke form is bad news for one Middlesbrough player
Clarke’s upturn in form in 2024 has been great for Carrick and Middlesbrough but one player looks set to suffer as a result.
At the start of the 2023/24 campaign, Dael Fry was and had been for some time, one of Boro’s main two centre-backs.
However, the local lad suffered an injury midway through 2023/24, which opened the door for Clarke to start playing regularly.
Fry has since missed the start of the current season with another problem while Clarke continues to shine.
The Englishman is expected to return to full fitness in the near future but may find it really tough to regain his starting place ahead of Clarke and Rav van den Berg.
Fry has always been a consistent performer for Middlesbrough but right now, he is not better than Clarke.