Middlesbrough’s January transfer window could help Michael Carrick achieve his desire for a more balanced attack - with threats from both sides of the pitch.

This season, largely thanks to the excellence of Ben Doak, Boro ’s attacks have been heavily weighted to the right hand side of the pitch. While Doak has really excelled at Boro, they’ve at times struggled to break defences down when they sit in a low block and offer the Liverpool loanee much space in behind.

On the opposite flank, Carrick has tried different methods to try and make that flank more functional, but Neto Borges has struggled to provide an attacking outlet, Delano Burgzorg has been inconsistent, while Riley McGree has struggled throughout with fitness.

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However, Boro’s January business was heavily focused on trying to sort the attacking issues, with Ryan Giles returning for his attacking prowess from full-back, while Morgan Whittaker and Samuel Iling-Junior have been added to the forward ranks.

While Whittaker is mainly a right-sided midfielder, he plays the role differently to Doak - who is unfortunately injured for the next month or so. A left-footed player, he prefers to come inside whereas Doak likes to hug the touchline. Iling-Junior, meanwhile, is an exciting ball-carrying prospect who should be comfortable playing any of the three roles behind the striker. Overall, the hope is that they’ll bring more variation and less predictability to the Boro attack - which is exactly what Carrick was wanting.

Speaking about the right-sided dominance ahead of the transfer window, the Boro boss said: “To be honest, it’s not a real big focus for us [attacking from the right]. We want to attack both sides of the pitch, it’s just that down that side of the pitch we’ve been particularly dangerous.

“Ben has obviously had a big impact with his play and, linking well with Finn [Azaz], it’s naturally happened. It’s not something that we necessarily encourage or coach, it just takes that course naturally during a game. But certainly, we look to attack the full width of the pitch as much as we can.

“It’s a shared load. It all comes from how we build to that area of the pitch and how much service we give to that area of the pitch, and what positions we take up. We share the load by having different players attack particular spaces. It’s not just a one player solution, it’s a collective thing as a team.

“Whether that’s left, right, through the middle, whether that’s over the top or around the sides, there are always different ways and it’s never really one way. Sometimes one or two players might get the attention and praise for it, but it’s the team structure that allows that space to develop. Certainly we want to attack the full width of the pitch. The pitch is the size it is for a reason and it makes that space which we want to try and make the most of as much as we can.”

As far as predictability in attack is concerned, Boro can often be accused of trying to walk the ball in. In that sense, Whittaker’s arrival offers the side more long-range shooting ability, while it’s encouraging to see Hayden Hackney score two in two at the Riverside from outside the box too.

“We definitely encourage the boys to express themselves,” Carrick said when asked about shooting from range. “It then comes down to the boys’ decision-making and choosing when to take the shot that, percentage-wise, gives you the better chance without just shooting from everywhere. It’s getting that balance right.”