"Needed to replace Chuba Akpom" - Ray Parlour urges Middlesbrough transfer action | OneFootball

The 2023/24 season has been a season of inconsistency for large parts as far as Middlesbrough are concerned.

After a narrow defeat to Coventry City in last season's play-off semi-finals, Michael Carrick saw a plethora of attacking talent depart the club permanently or following the expiration of their respective loan deals, such as Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer, who were key figures in Boro's rapid rise up the table last term.

However this season, Carrick has seen his team find goals from across the squad harder to come by, with one man in particular standing out above the rest when it comes to this particular metric.

Ray Parlour urges Middlesbrough to sign another striker

One man who believes that the aforementioned Akpom's departure was a hard one for Middlesbrough to initially stomach, comes in the form of former player-turned pundit, Ray Parlour.

This also comes despite Ivorian frontman Emmanuel Latte Lath recently hitting a strong vein of form as Middlesbrough eventually climbed into the top ten of the second tier.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via NetBet Casino: “Goals have been an issue for Middlesbrough this season and Emmanuel Latte Lath is now starting to show his talent," Parlour stated.

“Boro needed to replace Chuba Akpom with a player who can score regularly and I hope they have found this in Latte Lath.

“At Championship level you need a couple of strikers who will get 10+ so Boro should be looking at another striker to complement Latte Lath as well," he continued.

The former Boro midfielder concluded: “Akpom was superb last year and this is where Boro have struggled in some games.”

Emmanuel Latte Lath's 23/24 season so far

Despite losing Akpom for a substantial £12m fee to Dutch giants Ajax, Middlesbrough did re-invest a hefty amount of what they recouped with the former Arsenal youngster, as Latte Lath was acquired for an estimated €5m fee from Serie A outfit Atalanta last August.

It took Carrick's side a fair amount of time to get going this season - recording their first Championship win on September 23rd - and subsequently, it wasn't the easiest of starts for Latte Lath in a completely new environment, as he netted just two goals in his first 12 league appearances for the Reds, on top of another two in EFL Cup successes over Bradford City and Exeter City.

Although he recorded three goals in December against Leeds United and Hull City, the forward's luck earlier in the season was summed up by an injury-hit spell, firstly in the EFL Cup Quarter-Final against Port Vale, where he was sidelined with a hamstring problem, before sustaining an ankle injury just five minutes into his return in the Semi-Final first leg vs Chelsea.

However, since his return, the 25-year-old has started to prove why such money was spent on his services, netting seven times in eleven appearances, with five of those coming in as many appearances.

Middlesbrough must improve the striking department

Despite the Ivorian's recent purple patch, this area of the Middlesbrough squad must be addressed in the summer.

After Latte Lath - who leads the way in terms of goals this season, three players are tied on seven strikes, with Isaiah Jones and Marcus Forss level with Morgan Rogers, which highlights the squad's overall inconsistency when it comes to scoring goals, as he left for Aston Villa three months ago.

Therefore, it's imperative that Carrick is backed in the summer to build a squad that is much more of a threat going forward if they are to mount a sustained promotion or play-off push.