AITOR Karanka is confident Jelle Vossen will have no problem continuing his impressive goalscoring record at Middlesbrough.

Vossen could make his debut in this afternoon’s trip to Huddersfield Town after joining on a season-long loan deal from Racing Club Genk on the last day of the transfer window.

His arrival signalled the end of a long pursuit with Boro having attempted to land the striker in the previous two transfer windows, but Genk played hardball over a fee for their star man.

While they were unable to strike a permanent deal, Karanka feels the loan deal to bring Vossen to the Riverside represents an astute piece of business, and the Boro boss admits he has already been impressed with the striker in training.

The Teessiders' have lacked a prolific goalscorer and that has been one of the major reasons why they have failed to secure a top six finish in the Championship, but Vossen boasts the sort of record that could make a difference.

His goal tallies in the last three seasons read 15, 19 and 22, and although it can take time for a striker to find their feet in a new league, Karanka believes Vossen is the sort of player that can be a success wherever he is.

“Jelle is a player who was captain of his team and is a national team player,” the Boro head coach said. “I have only known him the last two weeks, but he has showed everybody his character and the type of player he is.

“I think it is a big step for him. I am the kind of person who thinks the best players can play in any league and I’m sure he is going to play very well here and score many goals.”

Whether Vossen starts today remains to be seen with Karanka mulling over whether to change his favoured 4-2-3-1 system in order to accommodate two of Kike, Patrick Bamford and the Belgium international.

The Spaniard said: “He has a lot of competition with Patrick and Kike. He knows he has to work.

“I had a meeting with him at the beginning. I told all the players that arrived here that they must show me in every single game and session that the team is the most important thing.

“Nobody is above the team and all the players who are here understand that.

“Jelle will give us options. For me, it’s important to have players that can play in several positions.

“Jelle is a very good player. We have worked a long time to get him and he has come on loan for free.

“It’s important for us to improve our squad with players like Jelle without spending very much. We’ve got the best young players on loan and we didn’t spend a lot of money.

“We have spent on the likes of (Yanic) Wildschut, Kike and (Adam) Clayton. They are very good players and they will improve us.

“We did good business, bringing those players to replace the likes of (Marvin) Emnes and (Lukas) Jutkiewicz. The money is not my problem, but it’s my job to make things work.”

Dutch winger Yanic Wildschut was Boro’s second signing on transfer deadline day and he will also be in today’s squad.

The former Heerenveen wide man came up through the famous Ajax Academy and although he has moved to a new country for the first time, Karanka is confident is won’t take long for the 22-year-old to make an impact.

“He is a good player, a strong player, who can play on both wings. He will bring a lot to the team and will suit our style because our wide players are very important,” Karanka said. “He can score goals and I think he can improve here.

“It’s a very important step for him, because he has left Holland, but from now this is the best place for him to play and he knows it is a good opportunity for him.

“He has the potential to be a very good player. Now he has to settle and I am very confident he can do well.”

With Vossen, Kike, Bamford and Lee Tomlin all battling for a place in the team, Karanka revealed the club is looking to send young striker Bradley Fewster on loan.

The 18-year-old impressed Karanka during pre-season, but the Boro boss feels it would be beneficial for the England Under-19 international to play competitive football on a regular basis.

He said: “We are thinking about sending him on loan. I had a meeting with him yesterday and I told him that he is a potential Middlesbrough player and for his development now it is good to send him on loan.

“To train with men and to play real football, I don’t want to say Under-21s isn’t real football, but it will benefit him to be in a first team environment and play in front of crowds.

“It is a good step to go and learn but we have to be sure which team it is going to be. If he is going out on loan it is to play.”