Middlesbrough boss lavishes praise on 'humble' Leeds United loanee and reveals Sunderland advice

The 21-year-old arrived at the Riverside in August, joining on loan from Championship rivals Leeds United.

He had slipped down the pecking order at Elland Road, having previously featured on a semi-regular basis for the Whites in the Premier League.

Speaking ahead of Middlesbrough’s clash with Birmingham City, Carrick said he is “excited” to see what Greenwood can achieve in his career.

He said: “I just take Sam for what I've seen. He's been great to work with, he's improved a lot since he's been here in terms of his sharpness, his fitness really, because he had a stop-start pre-season.

"We were patient, we understood where he was at at that stage. I'm really excited to see what he can achieve and what he's capable of, not just now but of course moving forward in his career.

"He's got his feet on the ground, works hard, [he’s] humble, he listens and he learns. Of course it's an opportunity, like a lot of the boys at a similar age, you're trying to carve out and create a career for yourself. I hope they're all desperate in the best possible way to do well.”

Before the international break, Greenwood came up against his boyhood club Sunderland and opened his Middlesbrough account.

He was able to lean on advice from Carrick ahead of the fixture, as his head coach had a similar experience in his own playing career.

Carrick explained: “It's not easy. I mentioned to him before, my full Premier League debut for West Ham was against Newcastle. Obviously, I'm a Newcastle fan, it was at St James'. I didn't quite have the impact Sam had on the game, we ended up drawing 2-2 and I wasn't the best to be honest.

"I found a way of getting through it and I was trying to pass on my experiences of that. The game ended up becoming too big for me in terms of, I was thinking about the wrong things.

"Sam certainly didn't do that, and it's not easy to be in that position. His focus, his professionalism, his maturity really, to deal with that, I thought he was fantastic. Obviously, the goal, but I thought his overall performance and the way he handled the day was a real credit to him.”