Former Leicester City player should be on Middlesbrough FC radar after double blow | OneFootball

Boro should consider making a free agent move for a former Foxes star to help alleviate their centre-back problem.

Middlesbrough are in the midst of an injury crisis in central defence, and Michael Carrick may need to dip into the free agent market to prevent the situation from getting further out of control.

Boro have been rocked with the news that George Edmundson could be sidelined for the next month, whilst the seriousness of Rav van den Berg's knee injury is still to be determined.

Dael Fry returned from a nine-month stint on the physio table in December, and after makeshift centre-back Luke Ayling was forced off in Boro's recent 1-0 win over Derby County, Carrick may well only have the 27-year-old left as his only natural, senior option for the next handful of games.

Therefore, in order to replenish his rapidly dwindling numbers available in that essential part of the squad, the Boro boss should be casting his eyes over a former Leicester City star who is waiting for his next opportunity to arrive.

Michael Carrick had made it clear that Middlesbrough wouldn't sign a free agent amid defensive injury issues

Speaking via The Northern Echo prior to the Derby win, Carrick appeared to be firm in his judgement that Middlesbrough weren't going to be making any free agent signings to the heart of his defence.

He said: “Let’s see where we’re at. I don’t want to get too far ahead just yet when we’re still assessing the boys. A lot can happen in a season and injuries are part of it.

“We’ve got players who can cover. Luke (Ayling) came on the other night when we were drawing at the time and ended up winning. He’s played there before, and we’ve managed to win games when he’s played there before as well.

“Neto (Borges) has played there before in his career, Jonny (Howson), when he gets back, can play there as well. There are all sorts that can come into it. I think we’ve got a decently-balanced squad to cover every eventuality and hopefully we can make the most of it.”

However, as previously mentioned, Ayling has since picked up an injury problem of his own to his ankle, and with Darragh Lenihan seemingly set to play no part at all this season, as well as youngster Harley Hunt perhaps not being quite ready for a senior role yet, Carrick may now need to alter his stance.

Former Leicester City star Daniel Amartey could provide Middlesbrough with quality defensive reinforcement

Carrick won't want to make a signing just for the sake of it, but Daniel Amartey could provide Boro with valuable experience and quality should they make a move.

The 30-year-old is currently looking for a new club after departing Turkish giants Besiktas in the summer, but prior to that, he'd spent seven-and-a-half years as a Leicester City player.

During that time, the Ghanaian international was part of the unforgettable Premier League-winning Foxes side in 2015/16, as well as picking up an FA Cup and Community Shield winners medal from his spell at the King Power Stadium.

Comfortable operating as either a centre-back or in central midfield, he's shown himself to be an excellent tackler during his season with Besiktas last term, winning 85.7 percent of his tackles - something that has been a strong point of criticism regarding Boro's defenders this season.

A 90.5 percent passing accuracy also suggests he'd thrive in Carrick's possession-based, playing out from the back system, which again has been a big issue for Middlesbrough this season in terms of gifting away cheap goals through sloppy passing in defence.

His experience of over 100 Premier League appearances during his career can't be overlooked either, and would see Boro add a player who's been there and done it at the highest level of English football.

Therefore, Amartey would surely tick a lot of boxes for Middlesbrough and Carrick, and his arrival would no doubt ease the concern surrounding Boro's centre-back depth at the most crucial stage of the season.

Carrick has seemingly got Middlesbrough's season back on track, and so he surely won't want to risk seeing it derail once again due to an injury crisis in defence when a player of Amartey's quality and experience is potentially available to the Teessiders.