Michael Carrick speaks out on Middlesbrough figure following Emmanuel Latte Lath’s Ipswich Town saga | OneFootball

Carrick was keen to praise Steve Gibson for his role in keeping Latte Lath, after late interest from Ipswich.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has hailed Steve Gibson for taking a firm stance on Emmanuel Latte Lath, following strong interest from Ipswich Town.

Speaking to the Northern Echo, Carrick acknowledged that it would have been difficult for Boro owner Gibson to knock back the £20m bid that the Tractor Boys made for the striker during the latter stages of the summer transfer window.

Kieran McKenna's side haven't been afraid to spend during the summer transfer window, following their promotion to the Premier League.

Having been in League One less than two years ago, a considerable amount of investment was needed to get Ipswich's squad up to a top standard, although last season's squad did an excellent job to secure a top-two place.

Plenty of top-quality players arrived at Portman Road during the previous window - and many of these additions came from EFL teams.

With this in mind, it may not have come as a surprise to many when McKenna's side pursued a deal for Latte Lath, who has been a real asset for Boro since his move to Teesside last summer.

They may have already added plenty of attacking firepower to their team, with Liam Delap, Omari Hutchinson, Chiedozie Ogbene, Sammie Szmodics and Jack Clarke all coming in.

But they don't have a huge number of top-quality striker options and they were believed to be keen on getting a deal for Latte Lath over the line, having seen him score at an impressive rate at the Riverside.

However, they failed in this quest in the end and Boro were able to keep the Ivory Coast international.

Michael Carrick hails Steve Gibson after resisting Ipswich Town's Emmanuel Latte Lath interest

Gibson rejected a £20m bid for the player to keep him at the Riverside and Carrick was keen to highlight this after Boro's clash against Cardiff City.

He told the Northern Echo: "It can’t have been an easy decision to make (for Gibson to reject the bid).

"We all want success and that applies to Steve more than anyone for the amount he’s put into the club. It's easy for people outside the club to say, ‘Just knock it back’ and move on but when you’re running a football club, it takes a lot to reject it.

"It shows what Steve thinks and the kind of ambition that is spurring him on to back me and support me along with (head of football) Kieran Scott and (chief executive) Neil Bausor."

Steve Gibson deserves to be praised for Middlesbrough decision on Emmanuel Latte Lath

Considering Ipswich made such a late bid for Latte Lath, it would have been difficult for Boro to have replaced him.

With this in mind, Gibson probably made the right decision not to cash in on the player.

It was the right decision, but it was also a very brave one because Gibson has invested a lot of money into the club during his time at the helm and £20m is a huge sum of money for a Championship club.

That money could have been used in January to strengthen Boro's squad.