One Middlesbrough player is being tipped for a big 2024/25 Championship season.
Michael Carrick will need all of his Boro players to be firing on all cylinders if they are to secure a return to the Premier League next term.
The Teessiders have finished fourth and eighth in the previous two seasons but Middlesbrough’s promotion chances look quite high going into the 2024/25 Championship season.
The North East outfit have signed three new senior stars in a bid to strengthen their first-team squad.
Middlesbrough’s stance on selling key players was revealed last month, with the club aiming to keep hold of all their top assets.
This is a big boost for Boro as stars like Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg will need to be at their best in the coming campaign.
Van den Berg won the Middlesbrough Player of the Year award in 2023/24, while Latte Lath was their top scorer with 16 goals.
Middlesbrough star backed to be best player in Championship
If Middlesbrough are to secure a return to the Premier League for the first time in seven years, though, they will need their full squad to be at their best.
Players like Hayden Hackney, Luke Ayling, and Riley McGree will need to be in top form.
Another asset who could improve in 2024/25 is Finn Azaz, who moved to the Riverside from Plymouth Argyle in January 2024.
Now, speaking on the You Are My Boro podcast, journalist Scott Wilson has backed Azaz to be the best player in the second division in the coming campaign.
He said: “Fin Azaz, I think we know that he started very, very well for Boro.
“He’s the one, in the dark horse sense, by the end of the season, he could be one of the best players in the Championship, he could have got to that level.
“So a dark horse in the sense that we know he’s pretty good, maybe he’s very, very good.”
Finn Azaz yet to reach top level with Middlesbrough
When Middlesbrough secured Azaz’s services from Plymouth earlier this year, he arrived up north with a lot of buzz behind him.
The 23-year-old scored seven and assisted three in the first half of the Championship season despite playing in a relegation-threatened team.
As a result, big things were expected of him when he made the step up to Middlesbrough.
So far, however, the Irishman is arguably yet to reach his best form for his current club.
Azaz provided four goals and five assists in 20 games during his debut campaign for Middlesbrough, which is not a terrible record.
But the number 10 did go missing in patches during the second half of the season – an issue he must address this term.
Carrick does not have too many options on the attacking midfielder front, with an inexperienced Alex Gilbert currently backup to Azaz.
McGree can also play in that role, but he looks set to be utilised on the left flank now Sammy Silvera and Sam Greenwood are no longer at the club.