As Middlesbrough head towards the final third of the Championship campaign, still with plenty to play for, the return from injury of Marcus Forss could be so timely.
Michael Carrick has been very patient with the rehabilitation of the former Brentford striker, as he has done with all of those players who have had to endure time out through injury.
It could prove to be a master stroke as he may now depend on the 24-year-old to fire Boro up the league with his direct style of play and determination to score goals.
As Boro fans are aware, Marcus Forss was identified initially by Carrick as being a player who would benefit from playing on the right-hand side; cutting in and causing a threat from wide areas. But the side was set up differently last season.
This season represents a different challenge
Last season, there were a number of factors that may have contributed to Carrick utilising Forss in that way. Firstly, Isaiah Jones was not in the imperious form we all know he is capable of. There were reasons behind that dip in form, as Jones courageously shared last year. Forss was a very competent alternative on the right, reaching double figures for the season.
Also, the free-scoring Chuba Akpom from the ten role, and the scintillating scoring spree from Cameron Archer from January onwards meant that Forss’ opportunities of playing through the middle would have been slim anyway.
This season is different. Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick have had to find a way of scoring goals in different areas, sharing the goal scoring responsibility across the whole team. It would be naive to try to replace players like for like and expect them to score the same amount of goals.
Going out into the market and trying to buy two players that will score as many as Akpom and Archer would just not be possible.
Big ask for Boro’s young strikers
The season started with Josh Coburn and Emannuel Latte Lath as the recognised centre-forwards. They have both played their part and worked tirelessly for the cause. Both have had to shoulder a little bit of pressure for different reasons. Coburn is a young man who knew that there was a possibility he could be loaned out, but was desperate to show the club what he could do and that he could be a valuable asset at this level.
Latte Lath was arriving at a new club, in a different country and again wanted to prove that he could contribute at this level. At 24, Latte Lath is not a prospect and knows that the onus is on him to deliver fairly quickly.
Both are still developing and have shown glimpses of what they are about. Unfortunately, they have also both had injuries and niggles throughout the season, and both are currently out with knocks.
Ongoing thread of injuries
It has been a constant thread through Boro’s campaign so far. However, just as the club begin to work out whether a foray into the circus that is the January transfer window is needed, Forss re-entered the fray as a substitute and delivered a clinical finish (and a reminder to Carrick) in his appearance against Millwall.
Forss has played through the middle as a central striker throughout his career, and the Boro Head Coach has admitted that it is an option moving forward, especially given the injury situation.
The fact that he has played wide for a period of time should not be detrimental in terms of him playing that role. He often plays to come in from wide and get shots on goal anyway, so stylistically, it is just tweaking the position and stretching teams from a slightly different area on the pitch.
The stats don’t lie
The stats from FotMob website highlight just how direct Forss is, even from the right. In terms of shooting stats per 90 minutes, he is nearly top of the pile in all aspects. He has 0.78 goals per 90 mins, 0.68 expected goals, 5.98 shots per 90, and 2.08 shots on target per 90 minutes. All of those stats are in the top 98% of players in that position.
The emergence of Forss as a potential number nine at this pivotal time would alleviate any pressure to panic buy or loan from the transfer market. Carrick has already said it would have to be the right player to come in and not just anyone. The reason being, he does not want to hamper the progression of Coburn for the sake of it.
If Forss can step in over the next few weeks, and then Coburn and Latte Lath return, the club could decide against bringing in another player into a squad that has seen a high turnover of players. Especially when you include the 12 new faces from the summer.
With Azaz coming in, the return of McGree and Silvera in a few weeks’ time, there is plenty of attacking intent for the club to go with. Carrick could decide to give Forss more minutes against Rotherham and then he could decide to unleash his fresh energy on Chelsea in the huge game on Tuesday evening.