Middlesbrough F.C. midfielder Albert Adomah hopes the arrival of Stewart Downing from West Ham United will help the club’s quest for promotion to the English Premier League.
The England international, 31, re-joined Boro in a deal reportedly worth up to £7 million earlier this month, and has since been replaced by Argentine maestro Manuel Lanzini.
The arrival of the Downing has given the Championship side a boost in the transfer market, which has already led to the re-signing of Chelsea defender Tomáš Kalas on loan for the 2015/16 campaign, and Adomah believes more quality signings will follow.
“Stewart is a Premier League player and could’ve stayed there,” Adomah told Middlesbrough’s official website.
“But he’s come back to his hometown club and the supporters will appreciate him and hopefully he can do well for the team.
“That’s the mentality of someone like Stewart Downing – he’s coming back to his hometown club to help us out to achieve success and get back to the Premier League.
“Having a quality player like that will only attract more quality players, which will help Boro in the future and hopefully in this, or the next, transfer window.
“For someone like him to come here knowing he could’ve stayed in the Premier League will attract more players to the club.
“For the chairman to invest in a player like that, hopefully it will be a success.”
Downing tallied six goals and eight assists in 37 Premier League appearances for West Ham last season.
Middlesbrough are priced at 7/1 to win the Sky Bet Championship in 2015/16.
Benitez: Benzema staying put
Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez has insisted star striker Karim Benzema will stay at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu despite reported interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
The France international, who joined Real Madrid from French Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyonnais for €35 million in the summer of 2009, has been heavily linked with an exit from the Spanish capital amid reports suggesting Benitez will feature Cristiano Ronaldo as the club’s main striker in 2015/16.
When asked about Benzema’s future, Benitez said: “People are asking me about different players that maybe we will buy and I always say the same thing, ‘he’s not our player, I will not talk about that’.
“In this case, Karim is our player so I will not talk about that. I hope, I’m sure, that he will stay with us.”
Benzema, 27, bagged 15 goals and 10 assists in 29 league appearances for the Madrid last season.
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