"One of the headline-makers" - EFL expert drops exciting Middlesbrough, Finn Azaz prediction | OneFootball

The Irishman netted two well taken goal in his last outing for Boro.

Middlesbrough midfielder Finn Azaz has been predicted by EFL pundit George Elek to score double-digit goals this season and become "the key attacking player within the division."

The best of Boro was on display in their final game before the current international break. Taking advantage of a disheveled Luton Town side, Michael Carrick's players won 5-1 at the Riverside to edge themselves closer to the top six spots that alluded them last season.

Emmanuel Latte Lath looked back to his old self, scoring one and helping to set up another for Delano Burgzorg, who netted his first and second goals for the club since joining in the summer.

But the man who grabbed the headlines, though, was Finn Azaz.

As well as assisting Latte Lath with a lofted ball into his Ivorian teammate's path, inside the box, the 24-year-old finished neatly from inside the box early in the second-half before putting the stamp down on the game with a curling effort from the left-hand corner of the Hatters' box that nestled into the top corner.

George Elek predicts Championship ascent for Finn Azaz

The former Plymouth Argyle midfielder has started to find some real form as of late, after being bought by Boro for £2.5 million from Aston Villa last January; form that Elek of the Not The Top 20 Podcast believes can take him right to the very top of the division.

Speaking on the latest episode of the show (Monday, 11th November), he said: "Azaz is the player that I want to highlight here, because I think he's rapidly becoming one of the best players in the league, really, and I think he has a ceiling that could see him become the key attacking player within the division.

"He's someone who we saw at Plymouth what he was capable of, in terms of creation and goalscoring, but it's maybe taken him a while to show it at Boro. Now he is. I think the team is probably built now to allow him to do so.

"The fact that his xGOT after 40 shots is over seven, and he's only scored three goals, suggests that he isn't doing anything wrong," continued Elek.

"The execution of his shots is pretty good, 'keepers are just making saves. And I think the fact that he's scored a few goals in the last couple of weeks is a fairly good predictive tool to show us what is going to happen.

"I think Finn Azaz will end the season on 10+ goals. I think he is going to be a consistent goalscorer for them, both in terms of his long-range shooting, as we saw with the first goal, but also he is someone that does box-crash - he runs into the box late.

"His first goal on Saturday was a cutback that he found the roof of the net with, and his first goal against Norwich City a couple of weeks ago was a close-range finish. He scores all manner of goals through the middle of the park...

"At 24-years-old now, I think he is blossoming in front of our eyes and is soon to be one of the headline-makers in the Championship."

Finn Azaz has some things to work on before he can be considered as one of the best

The work that Azaz does in front of goal can be breathtakingly good. His ability to find a teammate with a pass that others wouldn't attempt, the way he finishes when the opportunity is presented to him; these are all hallmarks of a top attacking midfielder.

That's not all you need to be a top player in the modern age though. If you look right to the very top of the players in his position - Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Odegaard, Jamal Musiala - they are all very good when out of possession too.

This is a side of the game that the Irishman can improve on, and he will need to if he wants to play for the top teams in the country, not just in the Championship.