AITOR KARANKA insists new signing David Nugent was always his primary striker target this summer – and thinks Middlesbrough have got far greater value for money than paying £15m to Blackburn for Jordan Rhodes.

Boro have spent the majority of the summer trying to engineer a deal with Rovers for Rhodes, but decision makers at Ewood Park consistently rebuffed their advances and increased the valuation.

But after learning that Leicester’s new boss Claudio Ranieri was ready to allow Nugent to leave, Boro moved quickly to sign the player Karanka has wanted for more than a year – and at a much cheaper price.

The Foxes agreed to sell the 30-year-old for £4m and he has signed a three-year contract at the Riverside, where he could make his first appearance for the club against Bolton this afternoon.

Karanka said: “David Nugent is the player who I wanted at the beginning so I can't speak if Nugent is better than Rhodes, better than (Dwight) Gayle, better than all of the strikers who have been linked with us, I can't explain everything.

“The main thing is he is here and he is perfect for our style of play and I can't say anything about him as a player because everybody knows him and he was our first choice.”

He added: “I prefer not to speak about the numbers because I am not the person who manages the numbers in the club. We had, I told you I don't know how many times, one list, but not just the strikers, keepers, right-backs, central defenders, midfielders. I have one list in each position. David was the first one on that list and finally he is here and that is the main thing.”

When Karanka took over from Tony Mowbray in November 2013, Nugent went on to score 20 goals to help Leicester win the Championship that season. It was a return that did not go unnoticed by the Spaniard.

“I like to know about as many good players as possible and when I came here David scored 20 goals, he got promotion with Leicester,” said Karanka. “At the end of the season he finished his contract and I tried to sign him but I knew it would be difficult because he got promotion and Leicester offered him a good contract so it was difficult.

“But this summer it has been possible, so for me it is very important because the first thing is he scores goals, he knows the league, he is English, he knows some of the players here, so I think the most important thing is he doesn't need to settle in.”

Nugent scored 59 goals in 148 appearances for Leicester and it was a wrench to leave the King Power Stadium, but felt there was little choice after realising he was not part of Ranieri’s plans.

He has followed Stewart Downing, Alex Baptiste, Diego Fabbrini, Cristhian Stuani and Jack Stephens to Middlesbrough this summer and Karanka has not finished yet. He is considering a number of loan signings from the Premier League, with out of favour strikers still strong options. There is also interest in AC Milan goalkeeper Michael Agazzi.

He said: “We showed everybody that we are working really well because everybody was expecting that we were going to pay £15m or £14m for one player and we are not the kind of club that gives the money as a present to everybody.

“But I told you on Wednesday that David Nugent wasn’t close and he is here, so in football you never know. We have two more weeks and we have to find the right players. We have two more weeks to find the right players.

“I will have to speak with the chairman. We will not spend crazy money. We do not give money as a present to anyone. We are building a team especially with players who want to come here.”

Defenders Jonathan Woodgate and Ben Gibson remain sidelined with hamstring trouble and will not figure against Bolton today.