Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka reveals wantaway star Gaston Ramirez will return to training next week
Boro chief insists Uruguay international 'will want to show how good he is' after falling to land move to Leicester
MIDDLESBROUGH boss Aitor Karanka has told Gaston Ramirez that sulking won’t be good for anyone as he prepares to welcome the wantaway star back into the fold.
The Uruguayan star handed in a transfer request last month as he tried to force through a move to Leicester City.
That switch to the Foxes failed to materialise, and Karanka says he has not spoken to the 26-year-old since deadline day.
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Ramirez will miss Saturday’s clash at Tottenham, but he is set to return from injury to training next week.
And Karanka believes that he can get the best out of the attacker again after last month’s saga, and he says that the player must realise that moping and grumbling for the rest of the season will not do him or his team-mates any favours.
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Karanka said: "I always think positively and to be here four more months without playing or in a bad mood is not good for him or his teammates.
"I can't consider why he would be in a bad way. One of the biggest things this team has is the spirit in the changing room.
"For sure, they'll be together in the same way they helped him reach his level. The only thing I can say is that this group of players know how important Gaston is for this group, and Gaston knows how important this group of players are for him."
The ex-Southampton and Hull City man looked likely to be set for a return against West Brom on Tuesday, but Karanka was told by medical staff that he wasn’t fit enough.
Ramirez has not trained since then, but he’ll back on Monday and his manager is now willing to draw a line under the issues of January.
Karanka added: "If he wants to come to me, then yes (we'll chat) but I don't have to tell him anything.
I've spoken with him since he arrived here, he knows me very clearly, so if he comes to my office that would be perfect for me.
"I haven't spoken with him but you don't need to speak to each other. Both of us know that he's here. Knowing him and his character, for sure he'll want to show how good he is.
"He has his national team games in March and he knows how difficult it was for him when he left the position in the past, and he knows how much this club and this group of players have helped him to be in this position. So he'll be important for us."