Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick will be backed by chairman Steve Gibson in the January transfer window, according to Teesside Live journalist Craig Johns.

Carrick was only appointed in October and, with the Manchester United Great having not had a chance to shape the squad to his own liking yet, Johns suspects that Gibson will make funds available:

“There have been one or two whispers that Steve Gibson will be willing to back Michael Carrick in January, which, to be fair, he does with every manager as much as he possibly can anyway… In planning for January there will be an eye on the summer too, because inevitably more players always become available in the summer windows, with January seen as more of a topping-up window. As is often the case everywhere, I’d suspect there will be more loans in January, but we saw last year that, if the right deal is there as it was with Riley McGree, the club are prepared to make their move.”

From the sound of things, there will be some money to spend but it looks as though Carrick will have to box clever in order to get the right signings in through the door.

You would think that the Boro boss already has some players in mind ahead of January. He will be using the break for the World Cup to assess his squad further and, with there being only four games to go before the window opens, it’s prudent to have some plans in place so they can snap up potential signings pretty early on in the New Year.