Michael Carrick must do everything in his power to ensure one Middlesbrough player does not leave the club in 2025.
Middlesbrough have made a habit of letting their top players leave the club over the years.
When they were first relegated back down to the Championship in 2017, Steve Gibson sanctioned sales of key stars including Patrick Bamford, Adama Traore and his nephew, Ben Gibson.
In more recent times, Boro sold Chuba Akpom to Ajax after he scored the most goals of any Red in one season since Fabrizio Ravanelli in 1996/97.
Now, though the summer transfer window has just ended, the Teessiders must start thinking about the long-term future of several of their first-team players.
Emmanuel Latte Lath received transfer interest from Ipswich Town on deadline day and the striker will likely catch the eye of more Premier League clubs this season if he is able to replicate his 2023/24 form.
Elsewhere, Fulham wanted to sign Rav van den Berg while Tottenham Hotspur were interested in Hayden Hackney.
Boro also have several players set to be out of contract come the close of the 2024/25 season.
Middlesbrough could lose Matt Clarke for free in 2025
Middlesbrough captain Jonny Howson signed a 12-month extension earlier this year but as he is now 36 and will be 37 in May, he is expected to leave the club next summer and potentially even retire.
Carrick is also set to have a shortage of right-backs come the 2025 summer transfer window with both Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel now in the final year of their Boro deals.
Should said trio depart on frees, it will not impact the Teessiders too much, though the presence of Howson will surely be missed behind the scenes.
However, Matt Clarke is out of contract in 2025 and if Boro were to lose him next year, it would be a major blow for Carrick.
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Why Michael Carrick must sign Matt Clarke to new Middlesbrough contract
The 27-year-old originally arrived in the North East from Brighton and Hove Albion as a back-up central defender.
However, after Dael Fry and Darragh Lenihan picked up long-term injuries in 2023/24, the centre-back was handed a chance in the first-team and took it.
Carrick called Clarke ‘fabulous’ after Middlesbrough beat Cardiff City 2-0 on August 31st.
And prior to the most recent gameweek, Clarke was the third-highest-rated player in the Championship.
The Englishman’s impressive start to 2024/25 comes despite the fact he has spent much of the campaign so far as Boro’s only fit senior centre-back.
But Clarke has led by example, helping out the likes of Luke Ayling and Harley Hunt when they have been called upon to provide cover.
Should Carrick fail to agree a new deal with the former Brighton man, it will greatly weaken Middlesbrough’s backline.
Barring Van den Berg, Clarke is Boro’s best central defender by some distance and replacing him, especially if the Reds do not get promoted this season, will prove extremely difficult.
In turn, Carrick must act quickly to tie down the stopper to a fresh deal before any teams begin sniffing around him in the January window.