THEY might have lost their leading goalscorer, but Michael Carrick feels Middlesbrough have a stronger all-round attack thanks to their January transfer activity.

Boro head to Sheffield United this evening looking to climb back into the play-off positions, but they will line-up at Bramall Lane without Emmanuel Latte Lath after the Ivorian completed a £22m move to Atlanta United at the start of this month.

Losing Latte Lath, whose 11 Championship goals make him the fourth-highest scorer in the division this season, is undoubtedly a major blow, but Boro made a number of attacking moves of their own in January.

Kelechi Iheanacho arrived on a season-long loan from Sevilla, and will hope to make his debut tonight, Morgan Whittaker made a permanent move from Plymouth Argyle and Samuel Iling-Junior swapped Bologna for Boro, via a recall to his parent club, Aston Villa.

Whether any of the trio can come close to replacing Latte Lath’s goals remains to be seen, but with Tommy Conway also now back to full fitness, Carrick is delighted with the depth of attacking talent now at his disposal.

“We wish Manu all the best, and I can’t praise him enough for how handled everything, but things come to an end and you move on,” said the Boro boss. “Tommy is here and is a massive part of what we do, and now we’ve added Morgan, Kel and Sam too, to add to what we’ve got.

“We feel like we’ve strengthened in a different way rather than one in, one out or like for like. Across that frontline, I think we come out of the window with good balance and really good options.

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“Not everyone can play at the same time, but I think we can use that to our advantage. The game is increasingly moving in a direction where you need more players, whether that’s for starting games or coming off the bench at different times. I think we’re in good shape.”

Iheanacho will hope to emerge as Boro’s lead striker in the remaining 16 games, as he looks to get his career back on track after an unsuccessful spell in the Spanish top-flight with Sevilla.

Four seasons ago, the 28-year-old was scoring 19 goals for Leicester City in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup, and while his form tailed off as the Foxes were relegated and found themselves in the Championship, he remains a striker with abundant goalscoring ability.

“Kel’s got some great experience and pedigree with the level he’s played at over a long, long period,” said Carrick. “He played against us at the Riverside last season, and even though we managed to come out on top that day, I thought he really showed his quality and what he can bring.

“He’s desperate to play. He’s been a fantastic personality since he arrived and has trained great with the boys. He’s desperate to get started.”