Hibernian boss Lee Johnson believes Middlesbrough have at least 20 good players at their disposal with their depth being cited as a key strength by the former Sunderland manager, speaking to the Northern Echo.
The Teesside outfit have endured a busy couple of years in the transfer market, with Boro's recruitment drive in the summer of 2021 potentially taking Neil Warnock by surprise with 12 notable additions arriving during that window.
Recruiting five loanees last season, Boro required a considerable number of players again during this year's summer window to fill that void and they did that by bringing in another 11 players, with four of these only joining temporarily.
Still, they have a decent amount of depth at this stage with Zack Steffen and Liam Roberts competing for the first-choice spot between the sticks and the additions of Matt Clarke and Darragh Lenihan ensuring they have plenty of options in central defence.
That's without mentioning their midfield and attack, with the latter area being particularly full of options following the signings of Marcus Forss, Matthew Hoppe and Rodrigo Muniz.
This strength in depth is a key asset of Boro's according to Johnson, who wasn't afraid to point that out following his side's friendly with Carrick's men.
He said: "Generally in the Championship it's a relentless league and depth of the squad becomes really important or you have to be super lucky.
"Everyone has 14 or 15 good players, but in the Championship you probably need 20 and more. And Middlesbrough have got that."
The Verdict:
Chris Wilder made the right decision by rebuilding his goalkeeping department because neither Joe Lumley nor Luke Daniels did enough to be a starter with the former looking suspect at times.
Their defence looks reasonably strong, although Carrick's switch to a back four could mean another right-back is needed with Isaiah Jones being deployed in a more advanced role in midfield, though Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel are already available there with Ryan Giles and Marc Bola on the other side.
With Boro also starting the season without the intention of operating with advanced wingers, the former Manchester United midfielder may need to invest in this area to ensure he has a sufficient number of wide options.
Under Wilder, it looked as though they were lacking a replacement for Marcus Tavernier and Carrick may be on the prowl for another central midfielder when the window opens, though they do have options in there with Hayden Hackney becoming an important first-teamer.
And up top, they could potentially invest heavily in a new forward and allow Muniz to return to Fulham if things don't improve for the Brazilian on Teesside.