Michael Carrick insists he'll have no hesitation in continuing to pick Emmanuel Latte Lath, amid doubts over the striker's Middlesbrough future.

There remains uncertainty over whether Latte Lath will stay at Boro this month after Atlanta United's offer remains open for negotiations. Their initial bid was understood to be worth £18 million with a further £2 million in add-ons, while the MLS side are also offering the striker a huge wage hike.

However, as yet there has been no bid accepted by Boro and the Ivorian remained in the side on Saturday at Portsmouth. And though Boro lost to drop out of the play-off places, Latte Lath proved his continued importance and also commitment as he netted his 11th goal of the season.

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Asked about the Ivorian's future and continued selection after the game, the Boro boss said: “For sure [he’ll keep playing]. He’s a big part of the group and he played well today and he scored so I was really happy with Manu today. There’s no change in his situation.”

As things stand, Atlanta United's offer - which would be a record fee paid by an MLS side for player - is the only one on the table for Boro. There has been much talk of Premier League interest in the centre-forward, but that's yet to materialise into an actual offer.

And with nothing yet agreed with Atlanta, who are also considering Crystal Palace striker Odsonne Edouard, Latte Lath looks set to continue in the Boro side on Tuesday evening when Tony Mowbray's West Brom visit the Riverside. Boro would still love to keep the striker this month and have Tommy Conway on the comeback trail after injury too. However, with such a serious offer needing consideration, Boro are also working on potential replacements to be ready should things progress and Latte Lath leaves.