£10k-a-week Middlesbrough player facing new uncertainty after West Brom win - Rob Edwards has big decision to make | OneFootball

Tommy Conway's place in Boro's starting XI looks as insecure as it's ever been since his move to Teesside.

Competition for places in Rob Edwards' Middlesbrough starting XI is fierce, as Boro's number nine Tommy Conway is finding out.

Something big appears to be stirring on Teesside.

Many once disillusioned Middlesbrough supporters at the conclusion of the Michael Carrick era are returning to the Riverside in droves, as their team are once again playing a brand of football that has got the town talking.

It's a side flooded with talented players, as both young stars and wise older veterans combine to form a group that appears to have all the ingredients necessary to serve up a truly memorable season.

Middlesbrough's win over West Brom shone light on fascinating situation regarding Tommy Conway

Boro claimed their biggest three points of the campaign so far last Friday evening, with a 2-1 win over fellow early pacesetters West Bromwich Albion.

In front of a packed out Riverside Stadium crowd, Edwards' side showed their clinical nature despite the Baggies enjoying large periods of dominance, as Boro's two new strikers David Strelec and Kaly Sene both bagged their first goals in red and white colours.

However, it was also a night that provided a fascinating glimpse into a team selection decision that is evolving for Edwards, and it relates to Tommy Conway.

Having signed from Bristol City in August last year for £4.5m, the 23-year-old Scotland international enjoyed a strong debut season as a Middlesbrough player, finishing as the club's top scorer with 13 goals from 36 Championship appearances.

As his number nine shirt suggests though, Carrick deployed him almost exclusively as a centre-forward, and indeed, that is where he has spent the vast majority of his career so far operating from.

It's also where he'd solely been deployed by Edwards through the first five games of this season, but Boro's clash with Albion marked the beginning of a potential shift in his role in the North East.

Edwards opted to start his new marquee addition Strelec as the lone striker, before the Slovakian was replaced at half-time for Sene, opting instead to start Conway in one of the two attacking midfield roles alongside Manchester City loanee, Sverre Nypan.

Rob Edwards has big Tommy Conway call to make - his Boro place is under significant threat

Conway had a big part to play in Middlesbrough's second goal of the evening, as he showcased his ability to get on the ball and link-up with his teammates, before driving into the box and squaring the ball back to Hayden Hackney, who laid it on a plate for Sene to smash home.

It would also be his last involvement in the game, as he was replaced after 63 minutes by experienced central midfielder Alan Browne, as Edwards looked to try and gain more control in the middle of the park.

That ensured Friday night would be his shortest Middlesbrough cameo of the 25/26 Championship season so far, with his previous lowest league run out this term being 67 minutes away at Norwich City.

In fact, you need to go back to Boro's 3-1 defeat away at Sheffield United on 12 February to find a league game in which Conway played fewer minutes than his 63 against West Brom, as he came off the bench for a 17-minute cameo at Bramall Lane.

Conway was solid in that attacking midfield role, and had one or two chances himself to get on the scoresheet, but his pedigree and squad number tells you that he's a centre-forward by trade, but he may well be learning that he isn't necessarily going to be the main man in that spot for Boro this season.

Both Strelec and Sene look like quality players at this level, and Edwards is surely going to have a tough time leaving either of those two out of his starting XI on a regular basis.

'Ok, well he can simply find a home in attacking midfield then?' one might say. Well, that's not going to be a straightforward task for the £10k-a-week (per Capology's estimates) Scotsman either.

Nypan, Delano Burgzorg, Morgan Whittaker, Sontje Hansen, Alex Gilbert and the returning Riley McGree are all battling for one of those two starting roles in attacking midfield, and even the likes of Browne, Micah Hamilton and Hackney could all operate as a number 10 too.

Therefore, for the first time in his Middlesbrough career, Conway's role and security as a member of Boro's starting XI looks the least obvious and most insecure as it's ever been.

That's despite the fact that he's undoubtedly a very good player at Championship level, and is a firm fan favourite among the Riverside faithful, who instantly fell in love with his work-rate, passion, and enthusiasm to represent Middlesbrough Football Club from the moment he joined.