MICHAEL CARRICK has been delighted with Middlesbrough’s transfer business this week, and is confident the club will have the right blend of youngsters and more experienced players by the time the window closes at the end of next month.

Seny Dieng completed a frantic seven days of activity earlier today when his switch from QPR was confirmed and he became the sixth new signing to be added to Carrick’s squad in the space of a week.

While Dieng is a proven performer who boasts extensive Championship signing, the other five additions are at a much more formative stage of their career.

Alex Gilbert moved from Brentford B, Raj van den Berg spent last season playing for PSV Eindhoven’s second team, Tom Glover and Sammy Silvera have moved to England from Australia and Morgan Rogers joined Boro from the youth ranks at Manchester City, having spent the second half of last season on loan at Blackpool.

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Boro’s new transfer approach clearly places a high value on signing promising youngsters who can be developed and improved within the first-team fold, and unlike his predecessors, Neil Warnock and Chris Wilder, Carrick is clearly wholly supportive of the policy.

However, he also accepts the need for a balanced approach, with the remainder of Boro’s summer transfer business likely to be focused on recruiting another two or three more experienced campaigners rather than continuing to prioritise youth.

“I think all the boys (expect Dieng), at the moment, are of a similar age and a similar time in their career,” said Carrick, who has spent the last week overseeing preparations at Boro’s warm-weather training camp in the Algarve. “They want to really fulfil what they’ve built on so far.

“We’re happy to push them and improve on that. There’s different parts of a squad – you want the younger ones, and then you want the ones to underpin that with the talent and potential.

“You want the ones who are pushing to play, and then you want senior ones as well. You have to get the balance right with that and we’ll be working hard with that through the rest of the window.”

Boro’s players have spent the last week training in Portugal, and are due to play Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes in a behind-closed-doors game later today.

Carrick has been delighted with his players’ work in the Algarve, with the trip having provided the ideal opportunity for the new arrivals to start integrating into the squad.

“It’s been really good,” said the Boro boss, in an interview with Middlesbrough's official website. “It’s been hot, it’s been challenging for the players, but I think it’s been a good balance between pushing and working them hard and keeping them fit and ticking over.

“The facilities have been incredible, we’re lucky that we can come to somewhere like this. I think the boys have appreciated it and we’ve managed to get some good work in.

“It’s obviously been a busy week. It’s been a couple of weeks of getting some new faces in and some new talent through the door. We’ve been trying to get them settled and into the swing of things as quickly as possible.

“We’ve been getting them in and around the boys, fitting in, creating friendships and relationships. Off the pitch, that’s important and there’s no better way to do that than when you’re away and together for the whole time.

“Then, on the pitch, it’s about them doing what they do best and settling in. Some haven’t trained so much before they’ve got here, some were a bit fitter, so it’s getting a balance with that. But they’ve enjoyed it, and they’ve fitted in really well. We’re delighted to have them all.”