NEGREDO’S MY DEFOE Karanka backs star to keep Boro up

AITOR KARANKA says Alvaro Negredo can score the goals to keep Middlesbrough in the Premier League.

The Boro boss (below) turned to the former Manchester City striker in the summer and he is one of 10 new signings at the Riverside.

Negredo, a Premier League title winner at Eastlands, agreed a season- long loan from Valencia to return to England.

Karanka, who takes his side to Sunderland today, is convinced Negredo has the goals to do what Jermain Defoe did for Sam Allardyce last season – and keep Boro up.

The Spain striker opened his and Boro’s Premier League account with a goal against Stoke last weekend.

And Karanka is convinced Negredo (right) is still hungry to prove he is one of the League’s top marksmen.

Karanka said: “I hope Alvaro can do for us what Jermain Defoe did for Sunderland last season.

“It would be an amazing thing for the team and the club because, when you have a player who scores 20-25 goals when you are organised in the style that we play, that can be a massive, massive achievement.

“I was conscious he played well at Manchester City. So, when you do that, you show you can cope with pressure, you have quality. Alvaro has everything – it is just that he needs to work on his confidence. When we approached him, we knew that he needed confidence. For him, the Premier League is the best football and he needed a person, a coach and a club who trust him.

“I could offer him that and I had confidence in him.

“The club is more organised than it was two or three years ago, so now we are trained to bring the right players in, the right professionals, the right people, who are always trying to improve.”

Defender Ben Gibson, 23, has signed a new five-year contract at Boro. He has made more than 100 appearances for the club and played his top-flight debut last weekend against Stoke. Gibson said: “It’s a dream come true for me, really.”