Karanka pleased with Adama’s Boro progress

Aitor Karanka may have seen his side slump to a weekend loss against Tottenham Hotspur but the performance of Spanish winger Adama Traore has left the Boro boss buzzing.

Traore, 20, moved to Middlesbrough in the summer after an ill-fated spell with Aston Villa last season saw him struggle to break into the first team as the Midlands club suffered relegation.

Traore moved to England in the summer of 2015 when he moved to Villa Park from Barcelona – and having the Catalan club on your CV is always a heavy burden for any youngster to carry around with them.

The young winger was used as a second half substitute against Spurs last weekend and made an instant impact with a powerful run through midfield and Karanka insists Traore is only going to get better as the season unfolds.

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

“I brought Adama here knowing he is a young lad and has amazing potential,” said Karanka. “He has to learn.

“He changed the game against Tottenham. The main thing for me was when the game was completely lost, he went to the pitch he changed everything.

“It is good for him to get confident. From now, he will have his chances, I will teach him because he is young and his potential is huge.

“I know everybody is going to speak about Adama this week but we have to be calm with him because his potential is huge – I have to teach him because he is a young player.

“He’s training well; he made an impact, so for him it’s a good step forward.”