Giles in: The ideal Middlesbrough starting XI Vs Swansea City on August 10 | OneFootball

Boro will be hoping to start the 24/25 season in much stronger fashion than last year.

Middlesbrough will take on Swansea City on the opening day of the 24/25 Championship season.

Boro boss Michael Carrick will be hoping - and indeed expecting - his side to be much faster out of the blocks than they were last season, with his side collecting just two points from their opening seven league games.

That dismal opening to the season saw the club sitting rock bottom of the Championship after those first seven fixtures, with both Carrick and Boro fans alike feeling non the wiser on what Middlesbrough's strongest team looked like.

Fast-forward to the present, and those signings who endured slow starts to their Boro careers have largely grown into key commodities, and the puzzle of Boro's best side looks far more straightforward to piece together.

Therefore, Football League World takes a look at Middlesbrough's ideal starting lineup for their opening day clash with the Swans.

GK - Seny Dieng

Middlesbrough's clear number one choice heading into the new season, Senegalese international Seny Dieng performed well enough in his debut season as a Middlesbrough player to retain the starting gloves for 2024/25.

Carrick wants his goalkeeper to be able to confidently and comfortably play out from the back, and the former QPR shotstopper certainly ticks that box - occasionally to his detriment last season.

Tom Glover failed to impress sufficiently enough to wrestle the gloves away from the 29-year-old, whilst Boro's promising stable of young goalkeepers such as Sol Brynn and Zach Hemming will battle with Glover for the backup role in pre-season.

RB - Luke Ayling

A right-back revelation that nobody saw coming; Luke Ayling's performances in a Middlesbrough shirt during his loan spell in the second half of last season took the Riverside by storm.

The 32-year-old contributed an astonishing eight assists in 19 Championship games, taking everyone connected with Middlesbrough by surprise as he was thought to be a mere stop-gap addition.

Ayling would become invaluable to Carrick's squad, and it was of no surprise to see the club - to all intents and purposes - not allow the former Leeds man to leave Teesside without signing a permanent contract.

CB - Rav van den Berg

Middlesbrough have been hitting a considerably higher ratio of home runs to foul balls in the transfer window of late, and in the form of Dutch youth international Rav van den Berg, they've knocked it out of the park.

Playing his debut season in English football as a teenager, the former PEC Zwolle defender was nothing short of outstanding for Boro last season and has unsurprisingly caught the attention of some top clubs, notably Tottenham Hotspur.

But the highly-promising youngster appears to be committed to the Middlesbrough project and will be one of Carrick's first names on the teamsheet come opening day.

CB - Darragh Lenihan

With the aforementioned van den Berg locked in to start in one of the centre-back roles, the big conundrum for Carrick is who to pair him with.

Matt Clarke returned from injury in impressive style for Boro last season and will likely draw no complaints from supporters should he be given the nod on matchday one.

But Irish international Darragh Lenihan was a rock at the heart of Middlesbrough's defence in 2022/23 and was becoming exactly that once again last season before an untimely injury robbed him of practically the entire season.

Now back fit and ready to don the shirt once again, the 30-year-old might just pip Clarke to a place in the starting XI to begin the season, but Boro fans will have zero complaints either way.

LB - Ryan Giles

As much as Lukas Engel only continued to improve as last season progressed, and despite the fact that Carrick has already foretold of the sizeable role Alex Bangura could play next season, adding Ryan Giles to his starting XI would surely be too tempting to turn down for Carrick.

The Hull City left-back lit up the Championship as a Middlesbrough player in 2022/23, with his 11 assists leading the second tier, and Boro are reportedly readying a bid for him despite his move to the MKM Stadium earlier this summer.

It's a complicated scenario, however, as the Tigers have signed the former Wolves player from Luton Town this summer to a three-year deal, for a fee believed to be £4m.

End of story, right? Well, not quite, as Hull are believed to have agreed to the insertion of an obligation to buy Giles this summer in the original loan move that took him to the MKM in January, with the club under the management of Liam Rosenior.

However, Rosenior has since left the club and been replaced by new boss Tim Walter, and it is unclear as to whether he sees Giles as part of his future plans.

It is understood that Giles would be interested in returning to Middlesbrough should he be told he is not part of the furniture at Hull, and that Boro would not be paying anything close to £4m in order to bring him back to Teesside.

Carrick is the manager who has undoubtedly extracted the best out of the former Hatters, and should he elicit a similar assist return from the 24-year-old once again next season, it could be the cutting edge that makes all the difference.

It's worth mentioning again at this stage that this is an ideal Middlesbrough starting XI and Giles would certainly be an ideal addition to the lineup in Carrick's eyes – particularly with the latest

CM - Hayden Hackney

One of the finest talents to emerge from the Rockliffe Park production line, Redcar's very own Hayden Hackney is a foundational piece in Middlesbrough's midfield.

The 22-year-old England youth international was limited to just 21 Championship games last season through injury but is now ready to once again pull the strings in the middle of the park.

Boro have an abundance of both proven, and up-and-coming central midfield talent that will all be jostling for starting opportunities, but so long as Hackney is fit and well, they'll all have an incredibly tough time shifting him out of Carrick's lineup.

CM - Jonny Howson

Like that relative who refuses to admit that they indeed have no longer still got it, the evergreen Jonny Howson just will not take his leave and ride off into the sunset - something that nobody can say he hasn't earned the opportunity to do so.

The 36-year-old continues to orchestrate Middlesbrough's midfield in as classy a fashion as ever, wearing the captain's armband like few Boro players have been able to do over the years.

And so even if Carrick does appear to have sourced his long-term replacement in Aidan Morris, that doesn't mean that he plans to make the former Norwich man redundant in his squad.

So it should come as no surprise to see Howson right where he's always belonged come 10 August and that's right in the heart of Middlesbrough's midfield.

LM - Riley McGree

With Sammy Silvera departing on a season-long loan to Portsmouth, the door to Middlesbrough's left flank has been blown wide open for any player who wishes to make it theirs next season.

Fellow Australian international Riley McGree is probably in pole position to take Silvera's spot, but he could risk losing that should his contract saga rumble on.

The 25-year-old only has 12 months remaining on his current deal with the club and Carrick will no doubt be keen to tie the Socceroos star down for the long-term.

Should this situation remain unresolved come matchday one, then new signing Delano Burgzorg could be in line to start on Boro's left, but McGree is undoubtedly Carrick's most proven and experienced option in that position.

RM - Isaiah Jones

A player who draws groans of frustration and roars of excitement in equal measure, Isaiah Jones is a player that Middlesbrough just can't seem to do without over the years.

The 25-year-old once again proved his worth to Carrick last season, offering the Boro boss a threat from wide areas that commands to be respected by opposition sides.

With Boro seemingly not in the market for a right-winger, Jones looks set to reprise his role as Carrick's go-to option in that department.

CAM - Finn Azaz

Another player who only continued to improve and find his feet as the second half of last season progressed, Irish international Finn Azaz is the versatile creative cog that Carrick has been searching for.

Capable of playing on the wing, and in a more central role behind the centre-forward, Azaz showed signs of a player who can conduct Middlesbrough's attacking output for many years to come.

The former Plymouth Argyle man registered four goals and five assists in just 20 Championship outings for Boro last season, and could well be one of the second tier's breakout stars in 2024/25.

ST - Emmanuel Latte Lath

One of the more straightforward inclusions on the list, Emmanuel Latte Lath ended the 2023/24 season as one of the most in-form strikers in English football.

The Ivorian international scored in every single one of Middlesbrough's final six league matches last season, bagging eight goals in the process.

That took the former Atalanta forward's debut season tally - in which he also missed 16 Championship games - to 16 goals in 30 league appearances, notching a further two in the Carabao Cup.

He is most certainly Middlesbrough's number nine of the future, and it's fair to say that any promotion to the Premier League for Boro next season will have been woven in the fabric of Latte Lath's goals once again.