Middlesbrough urged to seal Louie Barry, Ryan Giles and Max Aarons deals in dream window | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has given his view on who he would like the club to sign in the January transfer window.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With the January transfer window fast approaching, it could be set to be a busy month for Middlesbrough.

After missing out on the play-offs last season, it has been a promising first half of the campaign for Middlesbrough, but while they currently sit sixth in the table, January could be crucial to their prospects of remaining among the promotion contenders.

Boro refused to sell any of their key players in the summer, and there were no high-profile departures from the Riverside Stadium, but with speculation starting to gather pace about a number of their stars, their resolve could be tested once again in January.

Striker Emmanuel Latte Lath was the subject of a £20 million bid from Ipswich Town in the summer, and the Tractor Boys are reportedly set to reignite their interest in January, along with West Ham United, while defender Rav van den Berg has been linked with Crystal Palace.

However, Boro head coach Michael Carrick has stated that "we want to come out of January as strong, if not stronger, than we're going into it", which could suggest that he is also looking to strengthen his squad, as well as keeping hold of the likes of Latte Lath and van den Berg.

Middlesbrough fan pundit identifies potential January targets

When asked what his hopes are ahead of the January transfer window, FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit Jasper Hudson said that retaining key players will be crucial next month, but he also urged the club to target Aston Villa's Louie Barry, Hull City's Ryan Giles and Bournemouth's Max Aarons.

"A perfect January for Middlesbrough involves keeping key players, namely Ben Doak, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Finn Azaz, Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney," Jasper said.

"Those are the most key players to the system and the way we play, and they are largely irreplaceable at this stage of the season, especially if we were to lose more than one of them.

"If we lost one, the easiest to deal with would be Latte Lath because Tommy Conway has been so good when he's come in, but Latte Lath has a huge physical presence which is why he's been so successful, so that would be a big loss.

"We definitely need to strengthen as well, I think the Louie Barry loan is an easy one.

"It's January, it's six months, it makes sense to add another quality option, and if it doesn't work out, it's only a short-term loan.

"We could potentially strengthen at left-back as well, Lukas Engel just hasn't featured at all and it's all been left to Neto Borges with Alex Bangura out injured.

"The obvious choice would be if we can get a deal to bring Ryan Giles back, again only on a six-month loan with an option to buy or something like that where we don't have to commit.

"It's been a year since he's been with us, so it just gives us a chance to add quality and depth, and reassess as to whether he could be a player that would impact the squad going forward.

"I think we could also strengthen at right-back, Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel are both out of contract in the summer, so it would be a good chance again to get a player in on a short-term deal or maybe potentially buy a player.

"With the way we play with attacking full-backs under Carrick, Max Aarons could potentially be a name as he's a proven Championship player.

"Strengthening the squad with quality, especially at full-back with the injuries we've had, will be crucial in the January window, as well as keeping our best players where we can."

Louie Barry could be a realistic signing for Middlesbrough in January

While keeping hold of their stars is likely to be the main priority for Middlesbrough in January, they will also be looking to add extra quality to their squad to boost their promotion hopes, and the likes of Barry, Giles and Aarons would all be excellent signings.

Villa have confirmed they will recall Barry from his loan spell at League One side Stockport County next month after he scored 15 goals in 22 games in the first half of the season, and the Teesside outfit are said to be the front-runners to sign the 21-year-old.

Boro supporters have long been keen to see Giles return to the Riverside Stadium after his successful loan spell in the 2022-23 season, but while a deal looked achievable a few weeks ago, he is now back in the starting line-up at Hull under new head coach Ruben Selles.

Aarons has made just one substitute appearance for Bournemouth in the Premier League this season, so he may be allowed to leave the Vitality Stadium in January, but as Carrick already has Luke Ayling and Anfernee Dijksteel at his disposal, he may decide against bringing in another right-back.