Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing knows Afonso Alves will need time to settle on Teesside, but has no doubt he will soon be scoring goals.The Riverside outfit's record signing is still some way from full fitness following his £12million move from Heerenveen on the final day of the January transfer window.

He made his debut as a substitute in the 1-0 victory over Fulham and came off the bench in the FA Cup draw with Sheffield United, but looked off the pace in both matches.

Manager Gareth Southgate has already admitted he has been forced to throw the Brazilian in at the deep end, but Downing expects Alves to eventually prove his worth.

The England international told the Daily Star: "The lads up front are doing well, so he has got a task on his hands to get in the team, but I'm sure he will because he is a quality player.

"We will let him find his feet a little bit and he will hopefully bag a few goals in for us.

"Obviously he is a little bit unfit at the minute because he has missed a lot of football. He had a quiet game on his debut against Fulham, but he had only had one day in training and it was a hard game to come into.

"I know how hard it is to settle somewhere because I've been out on loan myself and he has also got the language barrier to cope with.

"But he will definitely come good. Hopefully he will soon be banging the goals in because we need a goalscorer."

Downing has still to put-pen-to-paper on the new five-year deal he agreed last week, but is happy to have sorted out his long-term future in the North East.

He told the Daily Mail: "The contract is all agreed but there are still some things to iron out. It should be done any time this week.

"You can get unsettled because there is a lot of talk. I'm glad it's out of the way and I know where I'm going to be playing my football.

"I think the team is on the up. That's what the manager has said and there are players he is going to bring in."

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