Middlesbrough's five biggest winners after the first four games and the summer transfer window
Middlesbrough are only four games into the new season but it already feels like there are so many interesting stories and subplots emerging.
Making their best start to a season in six years, there are positives for Michael Carrick to take, but also lessons to be learned as Boro look to grow stronger as the season goes on. Six points better off than this stage last term, Boro will be looking to affirm their promotion credentials when the action resumes this weekend with a home clash with Preston North End.
With four games played and a summer transfer window now completed, there are many players in interesting, and in some cases, uncertain positions. But based on what we've seen so far, who can be considered the five biggest individual winners? We take a look.
READ MORE: Eight Middlesbrough players with uncertain months ahead after the summer transfer window
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Sol Brynn
Returning this summer after spending the last three seasons out on loan, Brynn's mission was to impress Michael Carrick and Boro's coaches to make himself part of the squad. Believed to have a really bright future ahead of him, Brynn has managed to do exactly that.
While he is, for now, behind Seny Dieng in the pecking order, Brynn has caught the eye enough over the summer to seemingly move himself ahead of Tom Glover, despite Carrick's insistence that there is no ranking system in place. Be that as it may, Brynn started both cup games and regularly makes the squad ahead of Glover, which suggests Brynn is making the next step in his career on his way to achieving his dream of becoming the Boro number one.
Anfernee Dijksteel
So often on the outside looking in since Carrick's arrival almost two years ago, Dijksteel's summer is another classic example of how quickly football can change. With just one year remaining on his Boro contract, many expected he would be moving on this summer.
But with Tommy Smith's injury recovery not as fast as hoped, enquiries for the Suriname international were knocked back last month and he's gone on to take his chance as defensive options have limited Carrick's options. He's played well as part of a solid defence.
With players returning and George Edmundson joining on deadline day, however, whether he retains his place in the team remains to be seen. But having struggled for game-time for so long on Teesside, Dijksteel will no doubt just be delighted to have proven he can still be an asset to the club when called upon.
Matt Clarke
After being cautiously reintroduced to the Boro side at the start of the year after 14 months out, Clarke went on to finish the season in remarkable form. With Darragh Lenihan and Dael Fry expected back from injury this summer, however, there was doubt about exactly how Carrick would fix up his defence for the new season, with the aforementioned duo stalwarts for Carrick before their injuries.
But with both players unable to get themselves ready for the start of the season, Clarke has remained part of the side and is surely cementing his place with more excellent performances at the back - often stepping up as the leader of a makeshift back four. As an added bonus, he's added an attacking set-piece threat to his game and is currently Boro's top-scorer!
Aidan Morris
Boro's positive summer transfer window saw them sign eight players in total, two of which are yet to make their debuts. While many are still settling into their new surroundings, it's hard not to be so impressed by the impact of Morris early on, with expert Sam Parkin describing him as one of the Championship's 'standout players' so far.
That he's moving all the way from the MLS at just 22 and has come into the Boro midfield to replace skipper Jonny Howson no less, and achieved that so seamlessly has been one of the biggest positives of Boro's season so far. Long may it continue.
Alex Gilbert
Having spent so much of last season frustrated by his lack of game-time, there were considerations to loan Gilbert out this summer. That's despite his strong end to last year, which left many, Gilbert included, hoping he'd done enough to prove what he was capable of.
While Gilbert was considered for a loan move, positive early performances in the Carabao Cup ultimately swayed Carrick to keep him around. Confirming Gilbert would stay at Boro, he then threw the forward on for his first league action of the season at Cardiff and he made an impact - setting up the second goal, albeit not earning an official assist because it went down as an own goal.
With Boro adding so many forward players during the summer, competition for places is going to be tough. How often we see Gilbert moving forward remains to be seen, but his start to the season does his chances no harm. He's shown just how clever and crafty an attacking player he can be.