Our Middlesbrough start debrief series continues with Australian winger Sammy Silvera So far we've looked in-depth at the starts of Seny Dieng, Rav van den Berg, Lukas Engel, Alex Bangura and Morgan Rogers.

When Middlesbrough won the bidding war for Sammy Silvera this summer they knew they were taking a gamble - albeit a low-risk one - on the A-League star.

Silvera had lit up the Australian league last term on the way to helping Central Coast Mariners win the Championship, but the 23-year-old had struggled in Europe previously and would be moving to a far tougher league.

But with the finances involved, it was a risk Boro believed worth taking having heard very good things about the winger and seen enough to believe that he could be the kind of unpolished gem that every club dreams of finding overseas.

Like Rogers, who we looked closely at yesterday, a lot of Silvera's best outings have come in the Carabao Cup, while Boro's early struggles in the league appeared to harm the confidence of the young forward, who showed some early signs that he could change a game in an instant with a moment of magic before his form dipped.

Playing all across the forward line, Silvera has shown in flashes the attacking quality and spark that he can provide. His assist at West Brom for Emmanuel Latte Lath's goal was a fine example of top wing play as he delivered a pinpoint cross for the Ivorian to head home.

But for as many positive moments that Silvera has provided, there have been wasteful and erratic moments too. For every stunner like the one he netted at Exeter recently, there will be a wild, sliced effort that goes well wide or well over.

In many ways, that's part of the make-up of what makes Silvera the player that he is and it's something Michael Carrick will be keen to ensure he continues doing. From the moment he arrived at Boro, Carrick has stressed the importance of his attacking players having the freedom to express themselves.

When he executes it right, Silvera's cut inside and fierce effort can be a real weapon for Boro. It's not easy to stop, though developing his ability to mix his game up a little more might certainly help.

It still feels too early in Silvera's Boro career to judge if their gamble will ultimately pay off. The moments of magic like the goal he scored recently to seal the three points at Norwich City haven't come often enough, but the fact they have come from time to time is evidence of the special things he could be capable of.

Whether he can produce that on a more consistent basis will ultimately be the determining factor as to how Boro's gamble is perceived in hindsight down the line. This season, however, was never expected to be one in which he replicated his eight goals and six assists for the Mariners.

That said, given more of an impact role from the bench of late as he was afforded more time to settle and adapt to the league, the 23-year-old already has three goals and two assists.

For this season at least, it's likely the Australian will continue his squad player role in the hope he can continue to develop and grow as a player. His true potential is somewhat of an unknown right now, but there's plenty to suggest that, similar to Sam Greenwood, he can eventually be a game-changing maverick kind of forward.