The aim for Emmanuel Latte Lath after Middlesbrough star wins Championship award

Michael Carrick is hoping Emmanuel Latte Lath can score the goals that drive Middlesbrough to success next season after his strong form of late bagged the striker the Championship Player of the Month award.

Latte Lath has won the monthly award for April, beating off competition from Che Adams (Southampton), Fabio Carvalho (Hull City) and Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) in the process. Voted for by a panel of experts which included Don Goodman, Latte Lath's award comes in recognition of a month that saw him score seven goals in six games.

It's part of an excellent end to the season for the 25-year-old since returning from his most recent injury, with ten goals in the last 11 overall. Carrick is delighted to see the Ivorian rewarded for his hard work after a tough season overall, having been impacted early on by injuries as he adapted to life in England.

READ MORE: Michael Carrick's strong hint that Jonny Howson will still be a Middlesbrough player next season

Carrick said: “I think it’s massively deserved. He’s had a big impact towards the end of the season. Big goals and he’s got a big presence around the place. He’s infectious with his big smile and messing around a lot of the time, but focused at the right time.

"He’s a joy to be around. Most importantly, he’s shown his quality against good teams and good defenders; shown that he can score different goals as well. So we’re really pleased for him."

Latte Lath, meanwhile, said: “It has been a great month for me and the team, I am really enjoying my football and of course scoring goals. We’re all looking forward to what’s ahead. Thank you to all the amazing Boro fans, who have supported us home and away all season.”

The excellent form is leading to a lot of optimism for next season, with Jonny Howson saying during an appearance on the Twe12th Man Podcast this week that he believes Latte Lath can be the Championship top scorer next season. In terms of his strike rate this term, he's averaging a goal every 134 minutes this season, with only Jamie Vardy and Josh Sargent more proficient.

Having played only 52% of Boro's Championship minutes this season, to net 15 goals in total ahead of the final game is certainly an achievement, and one that puts him on course to smash 20-plus goals next season if he can stay fit more often next term. That's certainly the Boro boss's hope.

Asked about Howson's prediction and if it should be his aim next term, he said: “I think just scoring as many goals as he can to make us successful is the aim. If someone else scores an awful lot of goals then he can’t do much to control that. But certainly, Manu has shown us what he is capable of doing and moving forward we’re really excited with what he can bring."