"Would not be without risks" - Leicester City eye Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Middlesbrough are worried about keeping hold of Michael Carrick this summer amid Premier League interest.

That is according to TEAMtalk, who report that a trio of top-flight sides are eyeing the Boro boss ahead of next season.

Leicester City's interest in Michael Carrick

One of the clubs interested is Leicester City.

The Foxes recently appointed Dean Smith on a short-term deal, but it appears that for the longer-term, they have their eyes cast elsewhere.

With that Leicester link in mind, we asked three of our FLW writers for their thoughts on Carrick potentially heading to Leicester this summer.

Brett Worthington

At this moment in time, it is quite difficult to see what kind of job Leicester City would be for Michael Carrick.

It is clear to see that Leicester are not the same side that has been competing at the top end of the table, and with their stay in the Premier League looking 50/50, you have to wonder if that job is as attractive as it once was.

It comes as no surprise that teams such as Leicester are starting to take note of what Carrick has done during his time at Middlesbrough.

The former England midfielder has done a terrific job, turning Boro from a relegation side into contention for the automatic places. He has made Middlesbrough an attractive place for players to play football again.

There is no doubt that at some point in his career Carrick will become a Premier League manager, but you just wonder if a job like this may be a little too soon for him. However, if he were to go to Leicester, you wouldn’t be against seeing an upturn in the club’s fortunes and then competing further up the table.

James Reeves

Carrick would be an incredibly exciting appointment for Leicester.

It would not be without risks, but Carrick has shown plenty of managerial potential during his time at the Riverside Stadium and could be a gamble worth taking.

Carrick has displayed excellent tactical knowledge and man management to transform Boro from a team struggling towards the bottom of the Championship table into serious promotion contenders, so the Premier League interest is understandable.

It would not be an easy task for Carrick to turn around the form of a Leicester squad who have significantly underperformed this season, while there would also be question marks over whether Carrick would be allowed to rebuild given the lack of investment at the club in recent years, so he should be careful about making the move to the King Power Stadium.

But from the Foxes' point of view, Carrick should be near the top of their list of targets, and he would be the perfect long-term appointment.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

To be honest, I don't think the Leicester City job is that appealing at the moment.

The only thing they may be able to offer Carrick is Premier League football if indeed they stay up and Middlesbrough don't get promoted.

I don't think that should be enough to tempt him to head for the King Power Stadium, though.

With the likes of Youri Tielemans out of contract, and James Maddison likely to leave this summer due to being out of contract in 2024, and plenty of others in similar situations, it looks a big rebuilding job, and given Leicester haven't spent much over the last couple of seasons, you wonder what it might look like.