Middlesbrough will be looking to strengthen their forward line this summer, with the lessons of the second-half of the season surely making pace a key attribute they need.
A wide forward has been added to their priority list as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the start of next season. Pace feels like a particularly important missing ingredient for [Boro](https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/all-about/middlesbrough-fc), as they felt the impact of Ben Doak’s season-ending injury in the second half of the season.
Doak had been such an influential players in the first half of the season and the Liverpool prospect could be set for a big-money move and top flight breakthrough as a result next season. Without his pace and direct style, Boro struggled in the second half of the campaign and lacked much conviction in attack.
Whether it’s through a change of ideas/game plan or not, huge improvements on that front will be needed this summer because Boro will be without Doak and also Samuel Iling-Junior for the start of next season. A new wide man has been added to Boro’s summer wishlist to replace Doak.
As things stand, across the three positions behind the main striker, Boro have five senior options, while Sammy Silvera, Micah Hamilton and Alex Gilbert return from their respective loan spells. All have struggled in League One and while that will likely mean Silvera’s Boro career comes to an end this summer, the future is less certain for both Hamilton and Gilbert, who may benefit from second loans, though they’ll likely get a chance in pre-season before decisions are made.
But Boro certainly need to make improvements in their forward ranks. They struggled all season to break teams down when operating a low-block, despite ending the season as the fourth-highest scorers in the division. The problem was particularly apparent after the January transfer window.
Morgan Whittaker was the headline signing of the window and he was signed to ultimately be the long-term right wing replacement for Doak, who at that time had not picked up his injury. To say Whittaker’s start at the club has been disappointing would be an understatement.
There remains hope that Whittaker can still come good and reproduce the Plymouth Argyle form that saw him net 20 goals in the 2023-24 season and made him such hot-property in the Championship 12 months ago. But, given his preference to invert, it could require a tactical/style rethink for Boro this summer - be that from Michael Carrick or whoever else ends up leading the club into the new season.
As well as Whittaker, Boro have Delano Burgzorg - who blows hot and cold but has the ability to be an asset on his day, Riley McGree - who excels when fit but has had far too many periods on the sidelines in the last two years, Marcus Forss - who has had his own injury troubles in recent times and has just one year remaining on his Boro deal, and finally, Finn Azaz - who ended the season with incredible goal contribution numbers but was inconsistent over the course of the campaign.
There’s plenty of technical ability among that group, but very little spark and excitement. They are all players who like the ball at their feet and, with the exception of Burgzorg, lack the pace or skill to beat a man on the dribble. With Boro’s need for variety in attack when faced against defences who look to frustrate them, adding some pace and excitement in attack is surely a priority.
Interestingly though, while there is versatility within their ranks, one thing Boro don't have, with the exception or Gilbert - and assuming McGree isn't considered as such given he's not played there often - is an alternative to Azaz. Carrick often deployed Kelechi Iheanacho there in the second half of the season in an attempt to free Azaz from the added attention he started getting. It's not understood to be something on their priority list, but unless they feel Gilbert can return this summer an be an adequate deputy, that might be something they have to consider too this summer because too often they found when Azaz wasn't quite on it, they weren't as a collective.