Middlesbrough may be watching Arsenal, Ipswich Town development with interest: View | OneFootball

After landing a play-off spot at the end of the 2022/23 season, Middlesbrough's aim for the 2023/24 campaign was to finish in the top six for the second consecutive season.

This is a goal which Michael Carrick's men were not able to deliver though, as they finished eighth in the Championship table, four points below the play-off spots.

Boro scored 71 goals from their 46 second tier games during 2023/24, which is fewer than any of this season's top six, with the exception of West Brom, who scored 70.

When Boro finished in the top-six at the end of the 2022/23 season, they were the Championship's second-highest scorers behind former champions Burnley, with 84 compared to the Clarets' 87.

But that season, Carrick had golden boot winner Chuba Akpom, who scored 28 goals, at his disposal, while Cameron Archer joined the club on loan from Aston Villa in January 2023, and scored 11 goals as well as providing six assists in just 20 appearances.

During the 2023/24 campaign, Boro's top-scorer was Emmanuel Latte Lath, who returned a very decent tally of 16 goals in 30 Championship appearances, but the club's second top scorer was Isaiah Jones, who scored just eight goals.

Latte Lath has done very well in his first season in English football, but if Boro are to reach the play-offs in 2024/25, they will need another goalscorer among their ranks, who could help their top marksman in the way that Akpom thrived off Archer's support.

Boro may be keeping a keen eye on Arsenal and Ipswich Town developments

On Tuesday afternoon, TeamTalk revealed that freshly promoted Ipswich Town are lining up a move for Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, who has scored five Premier League goals this season.

Nketiah has not played a full 90 minutes in any competition since a Champions League group game with PSV Eindhoven back in December, while the Tractor Boys could capitalise on his desire for more gametime, as they look to bolster their squad in an effort to survive in the Premier League.

If Kieran McKenna is able to complete this ambitious signing, then the presence of Nketiah would surely move Kayden Jackson down the pecking order at Portman Road, while the 30-year-old has already been struggling for game time in a squad that boasts the likes of Nathan Broadhead and Ali Al Hamadi.

Furthermore, promotion to the top-flight could open the door for the Tractor Boys to make an attempt to sign AFC Bournemouth's Kieffer Moore on a permanent deal, after he scored seven goals while on loan from the Dorset outfit.

Jackson is out of contract this summer after signing a two-year extension back in 2022, so Boro could take their chance to sign the forward on a free transfer.

Jackson could be an asset for Boro

The forward's numbers at Portman Road this campaign may not make the most inspiring reading, as he scored three goals and made three assists in 29 appearances, but he was only named in McKenna's starting 11 on nine occasions.

Similarly, during the Tractor Boys' 2022/23 season, Jackson scored three goals and provided one assist in just 11 starts but 38 appearances as his side were promoted from League One to the Championship.

The last time the striker was afforded majorly substantial first team opportunities was during the 2019/20 campaign, in which he scored 11 goals and created seven assists in 28 starts and 32 League One outings.

Boro would not need Jackson as their main striker due to the prolific nature of Latte Lath, but the Tractor Boys man is clearly a player who could be a solid back-up option who could support the Ivorian in the goalscoring department when called upon, and given that he could be available on a free transfer, there is little monetary risk for Carrick and co if they are to pursue a deal.