A Middlesbrough academy starlet could replace a current first-team player after impressing Michael Carrick in pre-season.
Middlesbrough are in the midst of preparing for the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Boro kick off their season at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, August 10th, versus Swansea City.
Ahead of the proper season getting underway, the Teessiders have begun their pre-season.
Middlesbrough’s first official pre-season fixture of the summer takes place on Saturday, July 20th, versus Bolton Wanderers.
Before that, though, the North East outfit have spent the last week in Portugal for a warm-weather training camp.
While away, Boro faced Vitoria SC in a behind-closed-doors friendly. Michael Carrick played a different eleven in each half as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat.
George McCormick impresses Michael Carrick in pre-season
Results at this stage of pre-season are not important, with the focus instead on building fitness and giving players an opportunity to impress.
Carrick has handed plenty of chances to young Boro stars since his arrival at the club in 2022.
Law McCabe and Sonny Finch both made the trip to Portugal as part of the first-team squad.
The academy duo were later joined by George McCormick, James Wilson, and Luke Woolston.
Of that trio, it is McCormick who seemingly caught the eye of the Boro boss the most.
The central defender earned some minutes versus Vitoria and the Northern Echo report he is understood to have impressed Carrick and the rest of the Boro coaching team.
McCormick can replace Darragh Lenihan in Middlesbrough first-team
McCormick joined Middlesbrough at the age of nine and has previously captained their U18 team.
The now 19-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance for the Reds but Carrick showed with McCabe in 2023/24 that he is not afraid to hand youngsters a chance.
Should McCormick start earning regular minutes at the Riverside in 2024/25, he could be a long-term replacement for Darragh Lenihan.
Leninhan is now 30 years of age and has endured an injury-hint stint at Boro, making just eight league appearances in the previous campaign.
Rav van den Berg, Dael Fry, and Matt Clarke are all expected to compete to be starting centre-backs next season.
But with Leninhan coming to the end of his career and struggling to stay fit, McCormick could slot in as Boro’s fourth-choice centre-back if he continues to impress Carrick.