Iling-Junior joined Middlesbrough on a season-long loan from Villa in January, but initially struggled to make his mark on the first team.
The fact he was playing out-of-position on the right-hand side almost certainly didn’t help, but since being switched to left-back, the 21-year-old has looked much more comfortable and produced a series of increasingly-effective displays.
He was particularly prominent in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Oxford United, setting up Kelechi Iheanacho’s equaliser before claiming another assist for Neto Borges’ winner, and Carrick is delighted with the way he has been performing in the last few weeks.
“Sam had a major impact (in the Oxford win), there’s no getting away from that,” said the [Boro](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough) boss, whose side return to action at Blackburn Rovers on Friday night. “You can see the longer he’s here, the more he’s settling.
“He’s still so young. He was playing for England Under-21s during the week. He’s had a lot of different experiences and to come mid-season into this league for the first time, it’s a big change for him.”
Iling-Junior played as both a left winger and a left wing-back during his time with Serie A side Bologna in the first half of the season, and his comfort in possession and tendency to look to break forward from his current position of left-back have aided Boro’s attacking play significantly.
His overlapping runs on the left-hand side have become increasingly influential, and while his switch to the left of the back four might have been forced because of Neto Borges’ move to centre-half, there is a good chance Carrick will opt to keep him in the position even when injured defenders begin to return.
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“It’s just what he does naturally and how he plays,” said the Boro boss, when asked about Iling-Junior’s brace of assists at the weekend. “He’s an attacking player and it’s his natural game.
“It fits us as well, it fits our style, particularly when Finn (Azaz) plays off the left. But it’s natural really. It’s what he’s good at, and we’re seeing more and more of what he’s good at, what he’s capable of. Setting up the goals like he did, it (was) a big day for him.”
Iling-Junior is not the only one of Boro’s January signings to have looked increasingly at home in the last couple of matches.
Iheanacho claimed his first goal since moving to Teesside when he slotted home Iling-Junior’s cross at the weekend, and the Sevilla loanee is beginning to dovetail much more effectively with his fellow forward, Tommy Conway.
Morgan Whittaker came off the bench to help Boro claim all three points against Oxford, with Ryan Giles also appearing as a late substitute in the win.
“It feels like everyone has regrouped and resettled since January,” said Carrick. “Now, we’re in a place where Kel’s scoring, Sam’s setting goals up, Morgan’s coming on and making a really big impact from the bench. It’s really positive signs.”