HE might have only turned 22 earlier this month, but Michael Carrick says he can tell Middlesbrough summer signing Tommy Conway already has plenty of Championship experience under his belt.

The forward was fast approaching 100 appearances for Bristol City before he swapped Ashton Gate for the Riverside and Carrick has been instantly impressed by his new recruit's maturity on and off the pitch.

"He's settled in really well," said Boro's head coach.

"You can see he's got that personality, he's really mature and grown up for his age. You can tell he's got a lot of experience already despite being so young. But I don't see him as being young. He looks ready and has fitted in really well."

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Despite playing most of his football for Bristol City as a leading striker, Conway has so far operated as a No.10 for Boro. He replaced Finn Azaz for the final stages of Saturday's game against Portsmouth, making an impact from the bench and scoring the last minute equaliser from the spot.

Carrick said: "It was a straight swap for Finn. We didn't change the way we went about it. It was the same position just a slightly different skillset, slightly a bit more attacking and getting down the sides while Finn was receiving and playing the through balls.

"But Tommy can adapt. The front lads can play two or three different roles which is great. It's up to us to get the balance right,

"I was pleased for Tommy. I thought he came on and made a good impact.

"I though Micah (Hamilton) also came on and held the left-hand side really well. Tommy comes on and had a couple of opportunities down the side of the box, which is a good sign for us because he’s getting in there and having a good understanding already of those around him.

"To take the penalty as well, it’s something that he’s really good at but it was a good moment for him and I’m really happy he’s off to a good start."

Boro's last three penalties have been taken by three different players, with Delano Burgzorg striking from the spot against Heerenveen, Emmanuel Latte Lath against Swansea on the opening weekend and Conway on Saturday.

There isn't a definitive pecking order, confirmed Carrick, with the boss happy for his attackers to sort it between themselves.

He said: "Manu has taken them mostly but Delano did take one. They'll work it out between them as time goes and there might be a pecking order in the future but at the moment it's been working well."