‘Obviously’… Michael Carrick makes claim about Leeds United at his press conference today

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Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick believes the Championship is the strongest it has been in years due to teams like Leeds United.

Carrick was speaking in his pre-match press conference, via the Northern Echo, ahead of his side’s meeting with Leicester City tomorrow, in which he was asked about the three relegated clubs.

Leeds came down from the Premier League alongside Leicester and Southampton last season but all three have made very strong starts to life in the Championship.

Leicester currently sit top of the table with 13 wins from their opening 15 matches, while Leeds and Southampton sit third and fourth respectively after coming through a difficult opening period.

It is the first season in a long time where all three have a genuine chance of bouncing back at the first attempt, making it very difficult for the other sides in the division.

Carrick says Leeds, Southampton and Leicester have made Championship harder

Speaking ahead of Boro’s clash with Leicester tomorrow, Carrick believes while Leeds have dealt with the disappointment of relegation well, all three of the sides that came down have made the division tougher.

He said: “And then Leeds obviously have dealt with it well and are hitting some good form. It’s a tough league. It’s always a tough league.

“But it is particularly tough year this year, which is a credit to those three teams for how they’ve moved on pretty quickly. There’s still a long way to go, and that’s obviously the case for all of us.”

Carrick is definitely correct, as all three sides manage to keep hold of some top players that boast ability way beyond that of the Championship.

From Leeds’ point of view, the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter have both been outstanding. Signings such as Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and more have also been huge.

With Southampton and Leicester keeping players such as Kyle Walker-Peters, Charly Alcaraz, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Wilfred Ndidi, it really does make it very difficult for the rest of the division.