Exciting Middlesbrough premonition as Finn Azaz belief pays off with 'ultimate reward'

Michael Carrick believes there is still even more to come from Middlesbrough star Finn Azaz, with the forward having recently started complementing positive performances with end product.

There had been many positives to Azaz's early Boro form this season, but he was lacking in goals and assists. Despite that, Carrick kept faith in his number ten and insisted that they would come if he continued doing the right things.

And the Boro boss's belief in the Ireland international has paid off of late. Adding two goals and an assist to his tallies in Saturday's victory over Luton Town, the 24-year-old has three goals and three assists in Boro's last five. And if that wasn't exciting enough, Carrick still believes there is more to come, as he praised his inventive star.

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“Finn is talented and has been doing a lot of things that benefited the team without getting the ultimate reward from it," Carrick said. "But the way he plays, he’s so clever in the way he moves and links play for us. There’s been so many good things from him.

"Like every player, that little extra confidence when it starts coming for you, you can see he’s gone up a level again. We’re delighted with Finn and all the work he puts in. There are two parts to it really. There’s the end product, then there is the part that gets you to the end product. For us, judging the performance and all parts of what goes into that gives us a better chance over the long-term.

"I think Finn has done loads of good work without always getting the rewards for it. We know his quality though - his eye for a pass and for finding spaces to create for others. He’s an intelligent player and he can score goals as well. He did so before he came here and it was one the reasons we bought him. He’s got the whole package really and he’s having a really good spell, but there’s loads more to come from him still."