Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has some crucial decisions to make over the summer months.
Middlesbrough have seen their hopes of reaching the play-offs dashed since the turn of the year.
Boro find themselves 11 points adrift of sixth place Hull City following the disappointing 2-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
This was their third defeat in four matches and it has raised concerns over the future of some players in Michael Carrick’s squad.
A busy summer awaits for the Boro boss who will see a raft of first-team players depart the Riverside.
Including loans, Middlesbrough have seven players who are approaching the end of their contracts and one of those is long-serving Paddy McNair.
McNair arrived from North East rivals Sunderland in 2018 and has since chalked up 215 appearances at the club, scoring 14 and assisting 16 times.
A versatile player, who can operate as a centre-back or central midfielder, the 28-year-old’s positional versatility has been useful to Boro over the years, although he hasn’t featured as much as he would liked this term.
Despite playing a full ninety minutes and captaining the side in his last two matches, he was left out of the starting XI in the 12 previous games, raising concerns over his future.
However, he was instrumental in the 2-1 win over Leicester City and was a rare shining light in the loss to the Pilgrims, so perhaps Carrick should think twice about letting him go in the summer.
Why Middlesbrough should offer Paddy McNair a new contract
After signing him from Sunderland for £5 million, Boro face the risk of losing him on a free transfer and whilst that wouldn’t be the end of the world, the Northern Ireland international still has a lot to give.
At the age of 28, he’s approaching the prime years of his career as a central defender and this season he’s been unfortunate not to get more game time.
He’s played second fiddle to the likes of Rav van den Berg and Dael Fry but has shown in the last two matches that he’s more than capable of filling in when needed.
After all, the ‘terrific’ defender, as hailed by Carrick, is comfortable at bringing the ball out from the back, placing within the top 6% of Championship defenders for progressive carries and successful take-ons this term.
Not only that, but he’s also supremely experienced at this level having eclipsed over 200 appearances in the second tier.
And it’s that experience that can be instrumental alongside a raft of younger players who can learn a lot from his professionalism.
It’s been a frustrating season for him as a whole and many wouldn’t be obliged to let him go in the summer.
However, his last two performances, in particular, have perhaps given Carrick some food for thought over where his future lies and that could be at the Riverside.