Aidan Morris’ recent comments following his transfer to Middlesbrough show Michael Carrick has a key decision to make ahead of 2024/25.
Preparation for the forthcoming 2024/25 season is well underway at Middlesbrough.
Michael Carrick welcomed the majority of his squad back for pre-season last week, with the remaining names returning on July 1st.
Middlesbrough’s 2024/25 Championship fixture list was also released last week, with Boro handed a favourable start, kicking off versus Swansea City on August 10th.
Boro will have promotion hopes in the coming season after finishing just four points outside the top six last term.
In a bid to boost their Championship promotion chances, Steve Gibson has backed Carrick with three early signings.
One of which was Aidan Morris, who joined the Teessiders from MLS outfit Columbus Crew for around £3.16m.
Aidan Morris on how he fits into Middlesbrough midfield
Morris was in the midst of an excellent 2024 MLS season when Boro signed him, scoring two and assisting four in 16 league games.
The 22-year-old is expected to bring creative flair and a high work rate to Carrick’s side but question marks still remain over how he will be used by Carrick.
Hayden Hackney and Jonny Howson were Middlesbrough’s best midfield partnership when fit in 2023/24.
To that end, in an interview with BBC Radio Tees Sport, Morris was quizzed on how he can fit into his new side.
The USA international went on to praise both Hackney and Howson, labelling them as ‘quality’.
He said: “Obviously, it’s early times right now but we’ll see. Hayden I’ve got to see him train a bit and he looks like a quality player, good player, and Johnny just looks like he knows his way around the field, he’s been doing it for a while.
“Both of them have so much quality and so much experience at this level, so you know, I’ll try to learn and try to fit in where I belong.”
Carrick has key decision to make on Morris’ role at Middlesbrough
After spending over £3m on Morris this summer, Middlesbrough will likely want to see the player handed a prominent role.
However, Carrick will likely face a tough challenge in fitting Morris into an already solid Boro midfield.
Howson is club captain and despite turning 36 recently, remains one of the North East outfit’s better players – winning the Player of the Year award twice in recent seasons.
As for Hackney, he only turned 22 last month but his displays last term, when fit, highlighted the huge potential he has.
Dropping either player for Morris could impactive Boro’s 2024/25 season negatively and Carrick must be very careful in how he brings his new signing into the eleven.
Howson and Hackney are expected to start the season as Middlesbrough’s main midfield pairing as Morris will likely need time to adapt to England.
After that, though, it makes the most sense for Howson to be slowly fazed out of the starting line-up.
He and Morris have a similar style of play and given his age, 2024/25 will likely be Howson’s last season in a Boro shirt anyway.