MICHAEL Carrick hopes Middlesbrough can secure the permanent signing of George Edmundson before the end of the the January transfer window, despite the Tractor Boys recalling the defender from his loan spell at the Riverside.

Carrick insists Boro were aware of the possibility of Ipswich opting to recall Edmundson this month, though admitted they weren't sure when that call would come.

Edmundson played an important role for Boro in the first half of the season and efforts have been made over the last week or so to make the deal permanent. But with Boro and Ipswich so far unable to come to an agreement, the Tractor Boys opted to recall the 27-year-old halfway through his season-long spell on Teesside.

That's despite the fact he is out of contract at Ipswich at the end of the season and unable to play for anyone else in the second half of the season having already represented two clubs in the current campaign.

"We knew it was a possibility," said Carrick.

"We didn't know when it might come. The ball was in their court in terms of that situation.

"What happens next, we'll have to wait and see. It's not long happened so we'll explore what happens next.

“We were aware of it and we knew it was a possibility. It’s the case with a lot of loans that there is a cut off point before the deadline."

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Edmundson started Saturday's game against Portsmouth and Boro didn't find out about Ipswich's recall until Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the visit of West Brom. But Carrick was adamant that didn't disrupt his preparations too much.

He said: "We knew it was a possibility before tonight and we planned for the game with that in mind, so it didn’t affect preparation for the game too much. We knew it was a possibility so he wasn’t going to start tonight’s game anyway, just in case. It is what it is. "Sometimes you’re fully in control, sometimes you’re not and you’ve got to adapt."

Asked whether he's still hopeful of signing Edmundson on a permanent deal, Carrick said: "It's something we'll look at for sure. George has done well but it needs to be right for all parties so we'll see how that goes.

"He enjoyed it here. I think it's wrong of me to speak for George but he's loved it here, he's played a lot of football and he's been an important part of what we've done. It's been an important experience for him.

“I spoke to him since it happened. I can’t speak for him in terms of how he feels about the decision, but he had a real positive experience here and we’ll just have to see what happens next."