Middlesbrough chief Kieran Scott signed nine players for Michael Carrick in the 2024 summer transfer window.
Boro got a good chunk of their summer business done early in order to give their new arrivals plenty of time to settle.
Luke Ayling, Aidan Morris and Delano Burgzorg secured permanent moves to the Riverside Stadium ahead of pre-season getting underway.
Harley Hunt was then signed from Swindon Town and was expected to feature for Boro’s academy but has been promoted to the first-team squad in recent weeks due to injuries to the likes of Rav van den Berg and Dael Fry.
In the final month of the transfer window, Middlesbrough brought in Micah Hamilton from Manchester City, Tommy Conway from Bristol City and Neto Borges from Ligue 2 outfit Clermont Foot 63.
Heading into deadline day, the Teessiders were expected to sign a new centre-back and did so with George Edmundson arriving on loan from Ipswich Town.
However, there was another shock arrival on August 30th when Ben Doak moved to Middlesbrough on loan from Liverpool.
Kieran Scott explains why Middlesbrough signed Ben Doak
The arrival of the Scotland international came as something of a surprise on deadline day.
Middlesbrough were not thought to be in the market for another winger after already signing Hamilton and Burgzorg earlier in the window.
Hamilton, along with Isaiah Jones and Marcus Forss, were expected to offer Carrick plenty of cover on the right flank.
But now, Boro’s Head of Football Kieran Scott has shared an insight into why and how the move for Doak came about when speaking on the You Are My Boro podcast.
He said: “The scenario, when you do your work early and you’ve brought in players like we’ve done and we really padded the squad out, the first-team was improved by the players we brought in.
“It then does give you the benefit of being able to sit back and then wait for them real game-changing type players to become available because they always become available the end of the window, you’re not panicking, you’re not lurching, you’ve not held off the whole window for a Ben Doak but when they do come up, you know you want to strike straight away and you’re in a really key position to do it.
“And you’re selling a good squad, a settled squad and I think that’s what enticed Ben to come really. He looked at us as a group and thought ‘I can see that, I like the look of that’.
“It was quite pleasing to be in that situation where we could do that and obviously, you can all see that he has got that ability that can really change the game at our level, so we’re delighted that he’s joined us.”
- READ MORE: Kieran Scott reveals how Middlesbrough beat Premier League club to ‘great’ summer signing
What Ben Doak will bring to Middlesbrough
After his move was confirmed, there was much hype from Boro fans, in no small part due to the expectation surrounding the player.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has labeled Doak a ‘special boy’ after watching the teenager break into the Reds’ senior side.
Middlesbrough Head of Recruitment Chris Jones offered an exciting verdict on Doak as well, simply calling him a ‘potential game changer’.
Boro fans are still yet to see the 18-year-old in action as he spent the last couple of weeks away on international duty with Scotland.
But Middlesbrough play Preston North End on Saturday, September 14th, and Doak could well make his debut for the North East outfit in said match.
He is a pacey winger who loves to run at defenders and should offer Boro that bit of extra firepower they have been missing in recent games.