BORO FIRED UP WITH GAS

CHELSEA boss Antonio Conte reckons Middlesbrough have given Gaston Ramirez the “wow” factor, according to Aitor Karanka.

Uruguay playmaker Ramirez faces former clubs Hull and Southampton – who both decided he was not good enough – in the next two games.

Ramirez was a £12million flop with the Saints after joining them from Bologna in August 2012, making only 28 league and cup starts in four years.

During that time, he spent a season on loan at Hull in 2014-15 when the Tigers were relegated, scoring once in just 11 starts.

But his seven goals in 18 games on loan in the second half of last season helped to fire Boro back into the Premier League – and Karanka signed him on a permanent deal in the summer. Now, the Boro boss insists Ramirez (above), who was 26 on Friday, has nothing to prove when Hull visit the Riverside tomorrow and the Teessiders head to St Mary’s in a week’s time.

Karanka said: “I don’t think he needs to show anybody how good he is because he shows it every week.

“I was surprised two weeks ago when I was speaking with Conte after the game here against Chelsea, because he knew Gaston from Italy, and he said, ‘Wow, what have you done with Gaston? He’s a completely different player. He’s now more intense, he’s more involved in the game – in Italy, it was different’.

“I told him that, when I signed him, I knew he had problems with injuries and sometimes you have to touch on the right thing to give a player confidence.

“Now, he’s confident and he’s giving us a lot. I’ve felt I knew what he needed and, at the moment, I am right.”