Three things we learnt from Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City

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New boys step-up to make the Boro fit for Premier League purpose

Aitor Karanka handed out five competitive debut in his starting line-up for Middlesbrough, the bright-spark being Gaston Ramirez, the Uruguayan recapturing some of his former spark from his time at Southampton to put in a man-of-the-match performance against Stoke. Ramirez featured for the club on loan in their promotion campaign, but made his debut as a permanent arrival on Saturday.

The Uruguayan went a way towards proving he can sustain his Championship form and make as big an impact in the Premier League. He linked up superbly with Alvaro Negredo, and was unlucky not to get onto the scoresheet himself after getting the better of Ryan Shawcross only for his snap-shot to hit the post.

Boro’s ten signings is more than any other Premier League side have made in the close season, and it is a sign of Karanka’s ambition and desire to keep the Teesiders in the top flight.

Another summer signing, Antonio Barragan, epitomised the successful Middlesbrough formula of relying on a strong defence. It was a key part of winning promotion from the Championship, with the club shipping a mere eight goals at home throughout 2015/16. Barragan slotted superbly into central defence alongside Ben Gibson in the absence of injured Daniel Ayala, and looked right at home playing in England’s top flight.

Debutant goalkeeper Victor Valdes has a few shaky moments in the Middlesbrough goal, one such incident being a miscued punch which deflected back off the face of teammate Alvaro Negredo, requiring the intervention of Gaston Ramirez to clear from underneath his crossbar to stop the ball flying into the back of the net. Though on the whole, Boro’s new signings bedded into the side well, and although it is early in the season, the positive signs are there that there is more to come from them.

Mark Hughes’ robust Stoke side have become a reasonable benchmark for teams to judge whether or not they can cut it in the Premier League, and a new-look Middlesbrough more than held their own and got a precious first point on the board. Despite the frustrations of not seeing out the win, they can rest assured that they look fit for the big-time and a point against a side that has finished ninth for the past three seasons is not to be sniffed at.

The general feel around Teeside is that the club are finally back where they belong. Where they end up this season will go a long way in proving or disproving that theory.