MICHAEL CARRICK insists he is not concerned by the mounting interest in a number of his Middlesbrough players ahead of the January transfer window.
Boro return to action after the international break tomorrow afternoon when they head to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United, but while Carrick has been focusing on pre-match preparations in the last fortnight, he has also been forced to listen to mounting speculation over some of his star names.
Crystal Palace were heavily linked with a possible January move for Rav van den Berg during the international hiatus, while Hayden Hackney has also reportedly been attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
Emmanuel Latte Lath has had a somewhat underwhelming start to the season, but having been the subject of an unsuccessful bid from Ipswich Town at the end of the summer window, the Ivorian has also been touted as a potential January target for clubs based at home and overseas.
Carrick insists he is not worried by the prospect of Boro receiving January bids for some of their key men, and claims the mounting interest is evidence that he and his players are making positive progress.
“At this stage I’m not worried,” said Carrick. “I enjoy having the boys here to work with. We are in a very good place and have some very good players, whether that is younger or more experienced ones.
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“Naturally, in the game, people look and like them and think that they might do a job for them, that’s just how it works. So, I don’t worry about it.
“All the boys are an absolute joy to work with and enjoy being here and trying to achieve something, and that’s purely all that’s on our mind at the moment.
“Of course, myself and Kieran (Scott, head of football) in the background always have an eye on things coming up and what we can improve on, but player wise, I’m just enjoying working with what we’ve got.”
