Middlesbrough: Michael Carrick makes transfer claim as clubs circle Hackney, van den Berg | OneFootball

Speaking in the Northern Echo, Michael Carrick is taking any summer transfer interest in his Middlesbrough stars as something to be celebrated rather than fear.

As is the nature of recruiting talented players, clubs in bigger leagues and with bigger wallets will always pose a threat to those clubs trying desperately to keep them.

Indeed, Middlesbrough have already bought cheap and sold high during Carrick's short tenure, as exemplified most recently with Morgan Rogers' £16m transfer to Aston Villa - a player Boro signed for £1m last summer.

And so as the club heads into another summer transfer window full of hope and excitement that they will once again take great strides in their recruitment, fans will undoubtedly be concerned over the possibility they will lose some of their key players.

But Carrick isn't fearing any interest that may arrive over the coming weeks and months. Instead, he's seeing the rumours and links between his players and big moves as a shining example of the good work being done on Teesside.

Carrick takes confidence from summer interest

Speaking via the Northern Echo, Carrick said on the inevitable interest in his players: "Speculation is natural really, and I certainly take it as a compliment of the work we’re doing as a club.

"If we’ve got players that teams are looking at and interested in and are seen as exciting to watch, then that speaks highly of what we’re doing here and comes with the territory.

"If you’re building and helping develop good young players in an exciting football. It’s not so much that it gives us confidence in what we’re doing, it’s about having that trust in the process.

"Of course we want to keep the players we have here and develop as much as we can though. That doesn’t change from my point of view."

Middlesbrough don't need to sell key assets

It's fair to say that Carrick has worked wonders in the transfer market during his time on Teesside so far, as the club have been able to receive fees for multiple players that are many times over what the club parted with to sign them for.

Before the previously outlined Rogers to Aston Villa deal in January, Boro's Championship Golden Boot winner of 2022/23, Chuba Akpom, was sold to Ajax for a fee worth up to £12.2m.

When you consider the fact that Akpom was signed for £3m, that's a potential £28m profit on two players alone.

Therefore, it can be said with strong levels of confidence that the Teessiders will be entering the summer window in the strongest financial position the club has been in, since their relegation from the Premier League back in 2017.

The Boro players who could be attracting interest

Thanks to the largely excellent business Middlesbrough have completed in recent times, Carrick's side is now laden with sellable assets.

Whether it's one of the most in-form strikers in English football, or one of its brightest young defenders, the future at the Riverside looks to be extremely bright both on and off the pitch.

Emmanuel Latte Lath's 16 goals in 30 Championship appearances will have clubs inevitably interested in Boro's Ivorian goalscorer, whilst Dutch youth international Rav van den Berg was already wanted by Europe's elite clubs before opting for a move to Teesside.

Academy graduate Hayden Hackney has also drawn the eyes of Premier League giants for some time, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see interest reignited in the England youth international this summer.

But as Carrick says, Middlesbrough fans shouldn't fear the interest in their star players, instead they should be proud of it, and take it as a sign that the club is moving in the right direction.