Some Middlesbrough summer signings are settling in a lot better than others this season.
Boro made nine signings during the 2024 summer transfer window, some of which have excelled in the early stages of 2024/25.
After returning to the Riverside Stadium on a free transfer from Leeds United, Luke Ayling was dubbed Middlesbrough’s best player vs Portsmouth.
Further forward, despite losing the tie while having 70 percent possession and 20 shots, Delano Burgzorg shone vs Derby County.
And after arriving from Columbus Crew, Aidan Morris has become a fan favourite at Middlesbrough already.
The American was in from the off this past weekend as Middlesbrough beat Cardiff City 2-0 and was once again one of the best players on the pitch.
The ease and speed at which Morris has taken to the Championship is quite remarkable considering his previous experience and Boro look to have a real gem on their hands.
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One Middlesbrough summer signing is struggling under Michael Carrick
While Morris was in top form over the weekend and the likes of Ayling and Burgzorg have excelled in previous games, there is one summer addition Boro fans are yet to see anything from.
Tommy Conway joined Middlesbrough from Bristol City over the summer for £4.5m – the most the Teessiders paid out for any player in the summer transfer window.
So far though, Michael Carrick is yet to really see anything from the 22-year-old in a Boro shirt.
Conway was handed his first league start for Middlesbrough against Cardiff but really struggled and the statistics back that up.
Sofascore rated Conway the joint-worst Boro player for their clash in Wales along with Burgzorg and Isaiah Jones (6.6).
6.6 is not a terrible rating but his individual stats from the match further highlight how much Conway struggled.
The forward had just 24 touches during his stint on the pitch – 13 less than goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
Furthermore, Conway had zero shots on or off target and was only able to complete one dribble.
He also lost possession five times and his overall defensive work was pretty poor, being dribbled past once and completing zero tackles, zero interceptions and winning less than half of his ground duels (four of of nine).
Michael Carrick has easy fix for Tommy Conway problem
After paying £4.5m for a proven Championship goalscorer who has hit double figures in the last two seasons, Boro fans will likely want to see a bit more from Conway sooner rather than later.
However, it is fair to say that the striker’s problems have been more down to Carrick, rather than Conway himself.
Conway is capable of playing across the forward line but he is clearly best suited to a centre-forward role.
For Boro, however, the Scotland international has largely been played as a second striker or, as he was versus Cardiff, out wide.
This is clearly not where Middlesbrough will get the best out of him and Carrick needs to find a new role for Conway fast.