AITOR KARANKA has confirmed Stewart Downing will be allowed to leave Middlesbrough this month – provided the deal suits his current employers.

Downing has been told he is free to complete a loan move away from the Riverside, with Crystal Palace heading a growing number of clubs to have inquired about a possible short-term deal for the former England international.

It has been suggested that Middlesbrough would prefer Downing to drop into the Championship rather than spend the next four-and-a-half months playing for another top-flight team, but Karanka was unwilling to discuss potential destinations for the winger.

However, the Boro head coach has admitted Downing will be allowed to leave on loan this month, even though he remains in the squad for Saturday’s game at Watford.

Karanka said: “I have always said that if a player wants to leave, and Middlesbrough and another club agree a transfer, then that is fine with me.

“Whether it is selling a player, buying a player or bringing a player in on loan from another club, all the things have to fall into place. If Stewart wants to leave, and all the clubs agree, then would I be happy (to let him go)? Yes of course.

“You only have to look at Stewart’s figures since he has been here, and how many games he has played. At the beginning of the season, he was a very important player because he was one of the few players to have experience of the Premier League.

“If the club things it is good for the club, good for the player and good for the other club, then I can’t say anything (different).”

Karanka has completed one signing of his own this month, with Rudy Gestede having completed a £6m move from Aston Villa, and remains hopeful of bringing in a wide player before the transfer window closes.

Stoke’s Bojan Krkic is his preferred option, although Hull’s Robert Snodgrass and Everton’s Gerard Deulofeu are also in his thoughts.

Karanka said: “I am not hear to talk about Snodgrass, Bojan or Deulofeu. The only thing I know is that we brought Victor Orta to the club, and I am more than pleased with him. He is working really well, and I trust him 150 per cent.

“He knows what I think, and I told him that I don’t want to know anything at the beginning because he knows my thoughts. When everything is more or less done, that is when I will know.

“He is working well, the club is working, and the aim is to finish the transfer market with a better squad than we have now.”

David Nugent left Teesside this week in a £2.5m move to Derby County, and Karanka admits he did not feel he could stand in the striker’s way given his lack of involvement in Boro’s first team in the first half of the season.

He said: “I think he’s the kind of player where you are not 50-50 (about allowing him to leave). He is a player who has done an amazing job here, as a player and a person. As a manager, it is amazing to have a player like him in the squad.

“I have always said that I want the best for my players. He thought the best place for him was Derby, and I think it’s a good place for him. I’m really pleased.

“I hope he can get himself promoted again. I think it would be the third or fourth time for him, and I wish him all the best.”