Loanee's Middlesbrough message - and reflections on Michael Carrick's coaching work
SAMUEL ILING-JUNIOR feels his time at Middlesbrough has turned him into a better player, and has praised Michael Carrick for the one-one-one tuition he received from the former Boro boss at Rockliffe Park.
Iling-Junior joined Boro on loan in January, having spent the first half of the campaign in Italy with Bologna, and made 11 starts and five substitute appearances for the Teessiders.
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He played in a number of different positions, but was Boro's first-choice left-back for most of the last two months of the season, having been moved into the back four after Neto Borges suffered an injury.
The 21-year-old enjoyed his time working under Carrick and was disappointed to see the former Manchester United midfielder dismissed last week.
Iling-Junior is currently in Slovakia with the England Under-21 squad preparing for Thursday's opening game of the European Under-21 Championships against Czechia, and feels he is in a much stronger position thanks to his time on Teesside.
'There's definitely been a lot of lessons learned this season,' said Iling-Junior, who will return to his parent club, Aston Villa, for pre-season training later this summer. 'A lot of things that I can bring into my game and that's something that I'll take forward.
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'The biggest lesson, definitely, has been how to manage different loans because it's been my first time out. I was and am comfortable living abroad – it's something that I can adapt to and I've done it before – but being back home was exciting for me.
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'I can only look at my time with Middlesbrough as a positive. And I've only got good things to say about Michael Carrick, who's a good gaffer and man-manager.
'Tactically, he could work with players one-to-one and he developed myself. He gave me trust and I was able to show that on the pitch.
'I definitely settled into the left-back role and going up and down the pitch. I enjoyed that, bringing my parts into the team with assists, tricks and being creative.'
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While Iling-Junior was named amongst the forwards when the FA published England's squad list for the Under-21 Euros, he is one of only two realistic options for the left-back slot in Lee Carsley's team.
He is competing with Newcastle United's Tino Livramento, who is more naturally a right-back, for a starting role, and is confident he will do himself justice if selected on the left of England's back four.
'It's an honour to be one of the players that the manager's chosen and I want to repay that on the pitch,' he said. 'Tino has obviously had that great season with Newcastle. The competition is always healthy. If I can bring out the best of him and he brings out the best of me and we go and win the tournament then it's happy days.'
Iling-Junior has represented England at every age-group level since Under-15s, and is hoping to end his time as an Under-21s player with the high of being crowned European champions.
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He will have a brief break at the end of this month's tournament, then will report back to Villa hoping to impress Unai Emery. Middlesbrough will be keeping a close eye on the situation in the hope that Iling-Junior might be made available for another loan, but the youngster will be doing everything he can to try to force his way into Villa's first-team group for next season.
'You have to put the World Cup in your sights,' he said. 'You have to knock on that door, or at least put yourself in a position to be knocking on that door. There's a pathway and there's always someone watching.
'All the boys that have made their debut from the Under-21s and are now in that (senior) squad, that just goes to show that if you keep putting your mind to it and work with the coaches, then you'll get repaid for your hard work.
'And I definitely want to get back into Villa after this tournament and have some conversations and make an impact there as well. Unai Emery has always had conversations with me, so that helps. and he's kept track of my loans.
'So, that's definitely a good relationship and once we get back after the tournament then we'll have those conversations. For now, it's about just focusing on the Euros, and we'll see (what happens) when I get back to Villa.'
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