JOSEPH-DESIRE JOB last night urged Middlesbrough to make Geremi's move to Teesside a permanent one.
Cameroon international Job believes it is no coincidence that Boro's turnaround in fortunes has occurred at the same time as his fellow countryman's arrival.
Geremi arrived in the summer on a season-long loan from Real Madrid and he has not taken any time to settle, turning in convincing performances regularly.
The midfielder - rated at around £8m - was wanted by Chelsea but a move to Stamford Bridge fell through because of a lack of transfer funds.
Geremi, who ironically starred against the Blues on Saturday, is already regarded as one of the best middle-men in the Premiership - despite spending just a few months in England.
And Job is convinced football fans in this country will be seeing a lot more from him - and he hopes it will be with Boro.
"He is a big plus for Middlesbrough," said Job. "He has been a great signing and he is one of the reasons why Middlesbrough have been so good this season.
"He could have gone to Chelsea, he could still go to Chelsea at the end of the season because he is only on loan with us.
"But he is a tremendous bonus for this club and the manager did well to get him here.
"I'm happy for Geremi because once again he has had a good game, he is doing really well. He is a fantastic player and it's good for him that he has settled in well."
Job, like Geremi, has come into his own this season and he has linked up the midfield with attack by playing just behind Boro's front two.
But the former RC Lens star believes McClaren's men have to become stronger in the final third of the field - particularly on their travels.
Against Chelsea, Boro failed to score away from home for the third successive top-flight match.
Record-buy Massimo Maccarone has not scored for six matches, Szilard Nemeth's last goal was against Everton in September and Alen Boksic is yet to open his account this term.
And Job, who is convinced goals will soon come back, admits more does need to be done when Boro push forward.
He said: "It seems to be our problem when we play away from home that we are not as powerful up front as we would like to be.
"When we play at home we don't seem to have that problem. It's a strange one.
"I think Massimo and Szil (Nemeth) both did well, not bad. But we just didn't do enough up there.
"Like I say, away from home we need to show our strength that little bit more and I think that we will soon find that again."
Meanwhile Boro boss Steve McClaren is challenging young defender Stuart Parnaby to make himself indispensable to the team.
The 20-year-old full-back has made a major impact for the Teessiders since being thrown in at the deep end as Scottish international Robbie Stockdale struggled to shake off a heel problem.
And McClaren said: ''We always knew he had the ability, but you never know until you put them in that situation whether they've got the temperament.
''But Stuart's come in and proved that he has.
''He's an England Under-21 international and has just got another call-up, so he's got the pedigree. It's just character and temperament now that will decide how far he goes.
"And he has certainly shown them in the games that he's played so far."
Read more about Middlesbrough here.
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