New 'Boro star gets work permit

Middlesbrough’s plans for the new Premiership season were given a boost today when loan signing Geremi was granted a work permit.

The 23-year-old Cameroon international agreed a year-long move from Spanish giants Real Madrid after talks on Teesside last Friday, but then had to leave the country while his application was processed by the Department of Employment.

But Boro confirmed today that the permit has been granted, as they had confidently expected, to allow manager Steve McClaren to slot another piece of the jigsaw into place.

‘‘This is great news,’’ McClaren told the club’s official website, www.mfc.co.uk. ‘‘Although we didn’t anticipate problems, it’s always good when these things are resolved swiftly and positively.

‘‘Having Geremi with us is another piece in the jigsaw and I look forward to introducing him to the rest of the team.’’

Real’s cash problems have given the Teessiders the chance to get their hands on a player who arrives in England with an impressive pedigree, with two Champions League winners medals, an

Olympic gold and two African Cup of Nations triumphs among his achievements to date.

And he could hardly have come at a better time with McClaren facing a major rebuild in midfield after losing experienced campaigners Paul Ince and Robbie Mustoe.

He is the third overseas player to answer McClaren’s call this summer following Franck Queudrue’s decision to make his loan move permanent and the club record signing of Italian striker Massimo Maccarone.

As with Queudrue, Boro have an option to buy the player at the end of the season, and if he impresses as much as the Frenchman did during the last campaign, that will be something they will have to consider very seriously.

Meanwhile, another potential recruit, Jesper Blomqvist, will get a chance to prove his worth to McClaren this evening after being handed a place in the starting 11 for the friendly against Italian side Udinese in Austria, where the club has been training near Salzburg this week.

Blomqvist, who has been training with Boro for more than a week, will line up in a midfield which includes Jonathan Greening, Mark Wilson and Argentinian Carlos Marinelli, with Noel Whelan providing the support for Maccarone in attack.