LAST season, Diego Fabbrini was part of a Watford squad that swept to promotion with an attractive brand of free-flowing, attacking football. The only problem was that he couldn’t get a game in it, so he found himself shuffled off to Millwall and Birmingham City in the second half of the campaign.

This term, the Italian midfielder is a member of a Middlesbrough squad that is adopting a similarly attack-minded approach as it attempts to secure its own place in the top-flight.

The difference, though, is that he is a key member of the group rather than a peripheral presence.

A month and a half into his Middlesbrough career, and it is fair to say the 25-year-old has already made quite an impression.

His goal in Tuesday’s Capital One Cup win over Wolves was his third in a Boro shirt, he can already boast a supporters’ song in his honour, and the quality of his performances have seen him leapfrog homecoming hero Stewart Downing in the battle for the pivotal ‘number ten’ role.

Having watched Watford’s promotion success from afar last season, Fabbrini was itching to experience something similar when he agreed to join Boro on a season-long loan this summer.

Clearly, there is still an awfully long way to go. But as he reflects on a successful start that sees the Teessiders in second position ahead of Sunday’s televised home game with Leeds, he sees no reason why his current side cannot emulate his permanent employers over the course of the next eight months.

“We are an exciting team with a lot of attacking players, and for that reason, I think we can do very well this season,” said Fabbrini. “My team-mates are all very good players, and whoever is playing in the team at the moment is doing well and scoring goals.

“We have to play together and continue to do the things we have been doing. That will give us the best chance of winning more matches.

“Everyone is excited at the moment. After the loss against Bristol (City), we have won six games in a row, and right now it is a good moment for everybody. We must continue to go in this way.

“It will be a difficult season because the Championship is very difficult. But I think we have a very good team, with very good players, and I am sure we can do well.”

Tuesday’s League Cup win showcased Boro’s strength, as Aitor Karanka was able to make seven changes and still field a starting line-up that would have been an improvement on the vast majority of first-choice teams in the Championship.

Fabbrini was one of the players who came into the team, having failed to make the starting line-up at Nottingham Forest, and along with the likes of Fernando Amorebieta, Adam Forshaw and Carlos de Pena, he underlined the intense competition for places that is likely to be a key feature of Boro’s make-up this season.

It remains to be seen whether he retains his place for the visit of Leeds – a side that somewhat fortuitously did the double over Boro last season – but he could hardly have done any more to remind Karanka of his qualities.

“It will be another good game against Leeds,” he said. “If we want to go up to the Premier League, then we will have to win a lot of matches and this is the kind of game, at home, that we need to be doing well in.

"Leeds are a good team, and I am sure it will be a hard match. But we will be trying to win.

“I am very happy to be playing with this team. I think we are a very good team, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I am lucky to be playing with some very good players here at Middlesbrough, and every day I know I must work hard in training to improve.

"That is what I will be doing, and all I can do is try to play.”

Fabbrini’s chances of starting against Leeds have been enhanced by the injury that is making Cristhian Stuani a doubtful participant at the weekend.

Both Stuani and Daniel Ayala are nursing ankle injuries sustained in last weekend’s win at the City Ground, and while they might not have played on Tuesday anyway, Karanka has confirmed their midweek omission was enforced.

“Sometimes I change players because I want to rest them, but Stuani and Ayala were not able to play (against Wolves),” said the Boro head coach. “We have to speak with the doctor and see what is happening.

“Both of them have an ankle problem. Dani had a problem on Saturday – in the first half he had to leave the field for one or two minutes. And Cristhian finished the game with pain.”