Aidan Morris on his 'special' Middlesbrough phone call and step into the 'unknown'

A "SPECIAL" phone call with childhood idol Michael Carrick left Aidan Morris convinced he couldn't say no to Middlesbrough.

The midfielder is set to complete his switch to Boro in the coming days on the back of an emotional farewell to Columbus Crew in his final appearance for the MLS side over the weekend.

Boro have long tracked Morris, who was identified as the club's top midfield target this summer and transfer talks got underway months ago. Once an agreement had been reached between the two clubs, Morris then spoke directly to head coach Carrick and loved what he heard.

He admits his move to Boro and the Championship is a step into the "unknown" but he's relishing the challenge.

"This has been a couple of months in the making," he told NBC4 Columbus.

"They were interested but still had time left in their season so wanted to figure out how that went.

"I was able to have a phone call with Michael Carrick, who is someone I looked up to growing up watching soccer. Being able to have a call with that guy was special. He gave me his pitch and what Middlesbrough are all about. This seemed like the right step to take for my career and for me as a person to step out of my comfort zone and go and challenge myself."

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Although Boro's pre-season got underway this week, there will be patience with Morris, who, having already played half an MLS season, will have his workload closely managed and be given time to find his feet.

He says: "I know I'm prepared but I'm going in there with a lot of unknowns. I don't really know how it's going to be, the speed of play and everything. I know it's going to be faster.

"I'm taking this leap of faith. People who know me know I'm always looking to challenge myself and grow and get better and put myself in environments where I'm a bit more uncomfortable and I'm forced to grow and get better.

"At the end of my career I just want to look back at things and say I didn't regret anything and I'm the best version of myself I could be."