JOSH Coburn told of his Middlesbrough "love" and said he wanted to show Michael Carrick and the fans what he was capable of at Leeds United, amid fresh uncertainty over the striker's future.

Boro are set to strengthen their forward line with the capture of Tommy Conway from Bristol City today, with the arrival raising doubts over the future of Coburn.

There'd be no shortage of takers if Boro decided to sanction the exit - either loan or permanent - of the 21-year-old, with Millwall one of several clubs monitoring Coburn's situation. And there'll no doubt be more interest after the striker's fine display at Elland Road, where he created Boro's second goal and scored the third in an emphatic 3-0 win.

Coburn was set to leave Boro on loan last summer but changed the club's plans and wanted to prove his worth again in his first start of the season at Leeds.

He told Sky Sports "It's obviously special (to score), it's my club and I love Middlesbrough.

I just wanted to show the gaffer and the Boro fans what I can do and hopefully I did that.

"As soon as I put the Boro shirt on I commit as much as possible and it paid off."

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Carrick refused to be drawn on the transfer speculation surrounding the striker but praised Coburn for his Elland Road display.

He said: “It’s that time of year when there’s a lot (of transfer talk) thrown about.

"The boys have been fantastic with their focus and concentration, and Josh played really well tonight, supported by a lot of others as well. I thought there were just so many positives that it was just one of those nights.”

Anfernee Dijksteel set Boro on their way early in the second half at Leeds before Coburn teed up Delano Burgzorg for the second. The striker then wrapped up the win himself, setting up a home tie with Stoke City in the next round.

Coburn said: "We played very well. The gaffer said at half-time we know we can win these games, we had a strong side out, we went for it in the second half and it paid off.

"The first 10 minutes we got our bearings a bit and the press wasn't quite right but by the end we nailed it and got the goals."