MICHAEL CARRICK says Middlesbrough already have plans in place for their summer recruitment – and are ready to move on targets no matter what league they find themselves in come the end of the current campaign.
Carrick’s first transfer window as a manager proved a successful one, with Boro bringing in Cameron Archer, Dan Barlaser and Aaron Ramsey last month, but there is more uncertainty ahead of the reopening of the window in the summer.
With the Teessiders currently sitting in third position in the Championship table, four points adrift of second-placed Sheffield United, Carrick admits he is having to work with the club’s recruitment team to map out a twin-track transfer approach.
The identity of certain targets will be different depending on whether Boro are planning for a season in the Premier League or another campaign in the Championship next term, but Carrick is determined the club will not be caught out no matter what happens over the course of the next three months.
He said: “Of course, you have to plan. You’ve got to be realistic with your planning, but we definitely have a clear idea of the direction we want to go in, how we want the squad to look and the type of players we’re looking to bring into the group to try and improve.
“We look for good people as well. So yeah, we have a plan. It’s not always easy, we spoke about that around January and how football is complicated so it might not always go exactly as you expect.
“But we’ll definitely be prepared for whatever scenario we find ourselves in, in the summer.”
Carrick is already confident of having at least two new faces in his squad for next season, with Hayden Coulson and Josh Coburn set to return from their respective loan spells at Aberdeen and Bristol Rovers.
The Boro boss has been following both players closely over the last few months, and is looking forward to working with them at Rockliffe Park during pre-season.
He said: “We have a set-up and a number of staff members who work with the loan players and liaise with them, and then obviously feed that information back up to us.
“We’re fully aware of all the boys’ situations - how they’re doing, how they’re playing, are they in the team or not. That’s a big part of the role each week.
“Of course, the here and now, the short-term and what’s happening now, is important, but that doesn’t stop us planning for the week after, the month after, the summer and the transfer window etc.
“That planning goes on, and young players potentially coming back into the group is a big part of that. It all fits the bigger picture.”
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