Michael Carrick has suggested Middlesbrough will set a deadline on any potential Emmanuel Latte Lath exit, with the January transfer window now in its final ten days.

Boro came into the January transfer window braced for interest in their star striker, who has added another 11 goals this season to the 18 he scored last. Despite talk of Premier League interest though, as it stands, MLS side Atlanta united remain the only side to have tabled an official offer.

Said to be worth £20m after add-ons, the status of that offer remains unknown, with Latte Lath continuing to play and important role for Michael Carrick’s side in the Championship. However, Boro are pressing ahead with their own incoming business, and exactly how much they’ll be able to do before the transfer deadline, which is on Monday, February 3 at 11 pm, depends on if Latte Lath leaves the Riverside or not.

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Having turned down a deadline-day bid from Ipswich for Latte Lath in the summer, Carrick was asked if Boro would have a deadline again this time, in terms of when they could no longer accept offers. Carrick said: “Regardless of any individual, the closer it gets to a deadline, the more difficult things become. That’s the same for any player and any club.

“It’s always the danger and always the case. You’ll always see that a lot of things can happen in the last day or so of the transfer window. It’s not really ideal, but it’s just the world we live in and the business that’s been created. It’s why so many people will be glued to deadline day to see what’s going to happen.

“If you’ve got players that other teams are interested in, then it does leave you open [to losing people late on], but there’s nothing you can do about that really. There’s not really anything you can do to control that, other than staying calm and have a plan. The timing to then go on and implement plans, that’s another issue.

“But that’s not something that’s new for this window and it’s not something that’s unique to us. It’s the way the business is and we’ve just got to accept it. We had that last time out and it's something you have to deal with. You can't always plan for that and there are reasons why they don't get done or accepted towards the end. It becomes a bit more challenging to get things done. That's the dynamics of the window.”

Boro are believed to have a plan this time around if Latte Lath goes. As well as signing a striker to replace him, they’re also looking to strengthen other areas of their squad, but how much of the desired work they’d be able to do if the Ivorian doesn’t exit remains to be seen. Asked if he felt the striker would stay this month, Carrick offered no guarantees.

“The situation is exactly the same as it has been,” he said. “I think you can see in his attitude to playing and the fact he’s scoring goals, it’s no issue for us. I can’t say for any player that we will definitely hang on to them. Every player in the world has some price whatever that is. There’s no denying that, that’s football. But nothing has changed at the minute, we are where we are, and we’re happy with it.

“Over the years we've seen players deal with windows in different ways. It's the same with clubs and managers. At the moment nothing has changed. The boys in all different ways are dealing with this and just keep preparing for the next game and that focus narrows on what matters for us.”