AITOR KARANKA is banking on his two attacking buys coming good well before the end of the season with Middlesbrough effectively in the midst of a striker crisis threatening their Premier League future.

Boro head to Stoke City this afternoon and defeat could leave them in the bottom three for the first time this season after a run of nine Premier League matches without a win.

Six of those games have ended with Boro failing to score. They have also failed to find the net in any of their last three fixtures, heightening concerns that they are sliding towards the Championship.

Middlesbrough spent a combined £12m, which could rise depending on success, on two new forwards during the January transfer window. Neither have been able to hold down a place so far.

Rudy Gestede, a £6m buy from Aston Villa, is pressing to start ahead of Alvaro Negredo today while Patrick Bamford, another £6m buy which could rise to £9m, must wait to learn if he will make the bench at the Bet365 Stadium.

Karanka has had to let Bamford know his reasons for leaving him out completely at Crystal Palace last Saturday, so soon after making his expensive switch from Chelsea in January.

The Middlesbrough boss said: "I said when Patrick arrived back here that he needed time, it's not easy to play because he's been out for 18 months and he's had four chances to play and is the only player who had four chances in a row. He played against West Ham, West Brom, Tottenham and Accrington.

"He came to my office and I was showing him the reason he is not playing now, why he's not in the team and he understood it. He needs to learn, he needs to improve, because he left here when we were in the Championship, and now we're Premier League and the tempo and intensity is completely different. He understands it and is doing really well this week.

"I hope he's ready to play the next game because he came here to help us this season. It's true he needs to realise that when you've been out for 18 months it's not easy to come back.”

Gestede has looked more dangerous since his move from Villa. The French-born Benin international has his own problems playing at the highest level though.

The 28-year-old is the holder of a Premier League record for the wrong reasons, having played 36 consecutive games in the top tier of English football without winning. Karanka is certain his January buy will end that run shortly with Boro.

He said: "On February 1 I said I had the best players in the world, on March 2 I still say I have the best players in the world. Rudy will win a game soon. I wasn't aware of that record, no.”

Karanka will weigh up whether to play Gestede ahead of Negredo today. The latter is Middlesbrough’s leading scorer but he has looked increasingly frustrated with the lack of chances being created for him in front of goal.

Negredo, who is on loan from Valencia and a proposed £10m deal can be triggered at the end of the campaign if it suits all parties, was taken off at half-time against Palace.

Karanka said: "I know if he will play at Stoke but I'm not going to tell you if he starts. I don't tell you because he doesn't know yet and I think it's fair to tell him first.”

Middlesbrough’s problems in the final third raise question marks over the recruitment during the January transfer window, having struggled to score goals in the first half of the campaign too.

Karanka wanted Jese Rodriguez from Paris St Germain and Bojan Krkic from today’s opponents Stoke City, only for them both to surprisingly head for Las Palmas and Mainz respectively instead.

The Middlesbrough boss had been confident of landing both but was not ready to point the finger at Stoke or Bojan for it not happening ahead of today’s game.

He said: "It would be easy to say something, but Bojan is not here. I talk about the players who are here like Gestede, Bamford and (Adlene) Guedioura.

“Those are the best players in the world. If players are not here then I don't care. I wasn't in on negotiations but Bojan isn't here and I prefer to speak about players who are.”