West Ham's stance on Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick revealed | OneFootball

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick is not high up on West Ham's managerial shortlist to replace David Moyes, according to Graeme Bailey who revealed this information to Boro News.

Moyes' future has been the subject of speculation for some time now, even though the Irons won the Conference League last term and aren't in danger of being relegated at the end of the season.

It can definitely be said that he has done an excellent job at the London Stadium, but some supporters are keen for a change in management in the English capital.

At this stage, it doesn't seem as though Moyes is on the verge of an exit, but they seem to have targets in mind in case they need to move for a new boss.

Carrick, who started his professional career with the Irons, has been linked with the top job at the London Stadium in the past.

At the time, these links made sense because the former Manchester United midfielder was thriving during his first campaign in charge and it wouldn't have been a major surprise if they had been promoted at the end of last term.

Finishing in fourth place at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, they had the home advantage in the second leg against Coventry City, but Gustavo Hamer's goal at the Riverside consigned Boro to another season of Championship football.

This season hasn't gone as well for the Teesside club, who are set to miss out on the play-offs as things stand, but Carrick is still at the helm and could sign a new contract shortly.

Graeme Bailey on West Ham's links to Michael Carrick

The Irons may have been linked with Carrick in the past, but he doesn't seem to be at the top of the Hammers' list to replace Moyes at this point.

That's according to journalist Bailey, who told Boro News: "He’s happy here [Middlesbrough].

"I don’t think particularly he’s on anyone’s list at the moment; he’s always linked to West Ham but my understanding is West Ham have got some bigger targets to replace Moyes at the moment.

"I think that’ll get done [new Middlesbrough contract for Carrick] before the start of next season."

Middlesbrough is the best place for Michael Carrick to develop right now

As this season has shown, Carrick isn't invincible.

However, he wasn't dealt the best hand in the summer.

Not only did he lose the likes of Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey on the expiration of their loan deals, but he also saw Chuba Akpom depart.

That was a major blow for him - and plenty of players were signed that clearly needed quite a bit of time to adapt to life at the Riverside.

Carrick remaining at the Riverside for now will allow him to pick up valuable experience and learn from mistakes before he potentially moves on to another club.