Middlesbrough won't be too concerned about Emmanuel Latte Lath's future after agent's comments

Emmanuel Latte Lath's agent has set tongues wagging on Teesside with an interview in Italy where he effectively hasn't ruled out the possibility of the striker leaving Middlesbrough this summer.

Though making clear that it's not something they're actively looking for, Matthias Veneroso admitted in an interview with SportItalia that Latte Lath's end-of-season form - which saw him net 11 goals in 12 games to finish the season with 18 goals in total - could attract interest, and in such an event, both Boro and Latte Lath will have a decision to make on his future.

While the interview will do little to help the anxiety of those Boro fans who fear seeing a growing team ripped apart this summer by big-name sales, it is only fair to first off note that this was an interview in which Veneroso was responding to a question, rather than actively looking to push an agenda for his client. Such is far more common on the continent in comparison to England, where it's very rare to hear on-the-record comment from a player's agent.

READ MORE: Emmanuel Latte Lath's agent quizzed on striker's Middlesbrough future and chances of summer move

In terms of what he actually said, while he doesn't completely rule out the potential of a move, what he does say is that it would have to be one that would be seen to progress Latte Lath's career - as he spoke about the positive impact of his Boro move and the fact that he still has three years remaining on his contract here.

With our Boro blinkers on, we'll all argue that Latte Lath is better served staying at Boro next season. That might even be trues without our biases. But if a top-tier side from one of Europe's top leagues were to come in this summer, any player worth their salt would back themselves to make a success of the move.

How many of us expected Marcus Tavernier to be a Premier League player with Bournemouth still, two years after he left? Just six months ago, how many doubted Morgan Rogers would even get a game at Aston Villa, never mind prove the resounding success he has?

While there is an element of having to be realistic to the fact that many clubs will have been keeping an eye on the 25-year-old as he hit form towards the end of the season, and that Boro's financial reality means that any offers at a certain level would have to be at the very least seriously considered, at this stage at least, there will be little concern that Latte Lath will be anything but a Boro player next season.

The fact that Latte Lath has spoken about his enjoyment on Teesside and his agent talks about his plans to help Boro win the Championship next season rather than actively seek a move will help Boro. That they sold Rogers in January and head into a summer window in a good position as far as Championship PSR rules are concerned is reason for optimism that Latte Lath will be going nowhere.

Veneroso also discusses the potential value of Latte Lath now - that is, what he thinks it would take for Boro to consider selling. Having signed him for around £4 million from Atalanta last summer, he mentions a figure at least triple that amount, which would feel about right as a starting point but would surely need subsidising with add-ons and bonuses given Boro's position of strength thanks to that contract.

From there, you consider, how many top-level clubs will see that move as a viable one this summer. It's true that his form will have alerted many, but having scored 11 of those 18 goals in one burst and having suffered a couple of injuries over the course of the season, it would be a safe assumption that the majority of clubs who could afford the outlay to land the Ivorian will have more ready-made targets in mind initially.

Football recruitment is never perfect, however, particularly in the market of strikers. It would be naive to ignore the possibility that some clubs could end up coming down their preferred list of targets far enough to land on Latte Lath and therefore consider making a move for the striker.

In such a case, Boro will hold out for a considerable fee - with their preference to keep all of their key stars this summer. But while it's far from ideal, the club's current plight means that serious offers for players have to be considered. It's very much part of the model that will go towards making the club successful both on and off the pitch over the longer term. We all expect incoming signings, but the fact is that the money for them has to come from somewhere and at a time when running costs far outweigh revenue, player sales become important.

Brentford are often held up as the model club for this kind of direction and while many might be sick of harking to them in such situations, I'd make no apologies for that given how well they've done. If you look at the two summers before going on to achieve promotion, they sold their top scorer in both, with Neil Maupay leaving for Brighton before 12 months later Ollie Watkins left for Aston Villa. Replaced by Ivan Toney, it was the ex-Peterborough man who fired the Bees to the top flight.

While Boro would prefer to keep their squad together as best as possible this summer, the idea that you can't achieve success while selling players at the right time to ensure your finances are in order is simply not true. The key, as Brentford found, is getting your recruitment right. In that sense, having unearthed many gems last summer, Boro's recruitment team deserve praise and faith.

While that possibility shouldn't be ignored, it absolutely isn't the club's intention, however. Far more preferable to them will be to keep Latte Lath at the Riverside in the hope he can build further on his end-of-season form and hopefully fire Boro to the Premier League.

When you consider that they missed out on the top six by just four points this season when very talented players like Hayden Hackney, Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan, Riley McGree, Marcus Forss and Josh Coburn played missed a lot thanks to injury can make you realise how close Boro already are.

They're looking to strengthen their squad this summer, and, on paper, should face a weaker field while they start in a position of strength. And as far as selling players like Latte Lath goes, at this stage, they won't be too concerned.