NOT even 48 hours had passed after the transfer deadline and members of Middlesbrough's recruitment team had already turned their attention to next summer's window: players of interest being studied and lists of potential targets being tweaked.

It's that sort of forward planning that paved the way for Boro's hugely impressive summer of business.

Key boxes ticked, top targets landed, best players retained.

Only with time can a true judgement be made on a transfer window but it's little surprise Michael Carrick feels Boro are in a "really good place".

Very early in the summer the message coming out of Boro was that everyone was pulling in the same direction and on the same page when it came to transfer wishes and requirements. The actions of the months that followed backed that up.

Other than the mini-Tommy Conway saga - when the "noise" that Liam Manning referred to wasn't coming from a TS postcode - and the last-minute Emmanuel Latte Lath panic, there's been little fuss.

The pursuit of players such as Aidan Morris, Micah Hamilton and Neto Borges was all kept under wraps until deals were just about finalised, ensuring there was next to no risk of alerting other clubs to potential transfer opportunities.

Not that Boro were overly concerned about being stung by rivals at the 11th hour.

One of the most impressive aspects of this window has been the obvious power of Boro's sales pitch. Several of the signings have been very much in-demand but were sold on the move to the Riverside.

There are several factors: the profile of the head coach, the way his side play, the ambition and vision of the club, the pathway to the Premier League and rapid development of players such as Morgan Rogers, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Rav van den Berg. And the personal touch of head of football Kieran Scott and head of recruitment Chris Jones during negotiations.

Neto Borges is a good example. The Brazilian left-back wasn't short of options this summer, with Champions League side Brest one of the clubs chasing his signature.

But it's understood he valued the efforts of Boro's officials in getting to know him as a person during face-to-face talks - both formal and informal - as well as being made to feel extremely wanted.

Borges, again, is a good example of Boro's scouting. A lot of the work was done during the 2022/23 season when Middlesbrough were preparing for the possibility of missing out on Ryan Giles and needing to sign a left-back.

A deal couldn't be struck last summer and although Boro weren't expecting to be in the market to sign a left-back during the most recent window, they continued to keep an eye on Borges last term and watched him in person when they could. It meant, when Alex Bangura's injury forced their hand this summer, they were ready to act.

Boro had done their homework on Borges. Vincent Kompany knows the left-back well from his time in Belgium and Boro are understood to have spoken to the Bayern Munich boss when they were seeking reference. Kompany was a big fan, so much so he was keen on taking the 27-year-old to Burnley before he left in the summer.

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Boro have various different target lists, including those who could be available in the shorter-term and those will be monitored for further down the line. They also have a list of young players who they deem to have exciting potential. While plenty of these players might never become available, Boro try to ensure they're well placed if an opportunity presents itself. That was the case with Harley Hunt this summer.

While the groundwork for this summer's recruitment work goes back 12 months and more, concrete plans started to be put in place from the end of February, when it became pretty evident that another season in the Championship was most likely.

Luke Ayling had already done enough to convince the coaching and recruitment team that a permanent transfer was a priority and Aidan Morris had already been identified as the top midfield target.

That was also the case with Tommy Conway. Boro knew the capture of an in-demand 22-year-old senior international striker who'd already proven himself in the Championship was ambitious but backed themselves and their confidence was well placed.

As much as Bristol City would have liked a bidding war for the striker this summer, the power was taken out of their hands when Conway made it crystal clear Boro was the move he wanted.

While a move for Conway was always likely this summer because of his contract situation, that wasn't the case with Micah Hamilton. His availability came as a welcome surprise but Boro were quick to act, as was again the case with Ben Doak late in the window.

There'll be patience with Hamilton and there's a belief that it's in the second half of the season when he'll really find his feet.

Boro put their contacts to good use last week, Jonathan Woodgate with Liverpool to help Boro win the battle for in-demand Doak and Carrick with Ipswich to help secure the signing of George Edmundson.

Ipswich, of course, made that late move for Latte Lath and as crucial for Boro as the deals that were done this summer will be those that weren't.

Boro promised they'd stand firm on Latte Lath, Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney and were true to their word.

It's understood Boro received August bids for van den Berg that were swiftly rejected.

And there was the same response when Ipswich came knocking for Latte Lath.

Despite the late drama, Boro had no intentions of losing their star striker and the situation was quickly soothed, with the Ivorian travelling late on Friday to link-up with the squad and his head coach, who praised and thanked chairman Steve Gibson for his summer window support the day before the deadline and again the day after.

"It's fantastic for me," he said, of the club's desire to keep their star players.

"We’ve got be realistic at the same time to understand where we are in the football ladder and what that means. But certainly, our intentions, for me, are in the right place. I’ve had nothing but support in my time here and I know what we’re trying to achieve."

What Boro are trying to achieve is promotion and this window looks to have given Carrick and his players every chance of being in the mix.

"Without repeating myself, we really made a conscious effort to plan ahead and focus over a period of 12-18 months on how we want to develop as a group and as a club overall," he said last week.

"To get a lot of work done early, we felt that was really beneficial and puts us in a good place, we feel, to move forward."