THERE are two reasons why George Edmundson believes he's an ideal fit for Middlesbrough.

Firstly, he thinks the training and Michael Carrick's style of play will be very similar to what he's used to at Ipswich.

And secondly, he knows what it takes to win promotion to the Premier League - which is what he's desperate to achieve on Teesside.

A dramatic deadline day - "carnage" in the words of the defender - ended with Edmundson getting the move he wanted but feared wasn't going to happen earlier in the day.

Edmundson had turned down other clubs to join Boro and was panicking when the loan move to the Riverside looked to have fallen through, only for it to be revived late in the day, to the relief of the 27-year-old.

The international break has allowed Edmundson the opportunity of a lengthy spell on the training pitch with his new teammates, not that he thought settling in at Boro was ever going to be an issue.

His new boss Carrick is close friends with his Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna and Edmundson sees plenty of similarities between the pair.

Boro moved to sign Edmundson to ensure they weren't left short at the back with Darragh Lenihan and Dael Fry both out injured and Rav van den Berg having also spent a period on the sidelines in the early weeks of the season.

But head of football Kieran Scott has already made it clear Edmundson can be more than just cover and could have a longer-term future at Boro beyond his season-long loan. And the defender didn't join Boro to make up the numbers - he wants games and promotion.

“The gaffer at Ipswich has a long-term relationship with the gaffer here and the style of play, and training is very similar to what I’m used to," he said.

"It means I won’t have to change much. Obviously Boro have been doing really well since the gaffer came in as well, which makes it a club you want to be a part of.

"I’m here because I want to achieve promotion, not just because I want to play minutes.

"I’m 27 now and already have minutes in my legs. Obviously, yeah, I need to play games, but I don’t want to just play games and have nothing at the end of it. I’ve had a taste of promotion now, and I want that every season. I can’t wait for that first game and hopefully I can show the fans what I can do."

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Edmundson added: “It’s good to be here because this is the place I wanted to come and it was looking like it wasn’t going to happen on deadline day. Thankfully, we managed to sort everything out and got it over the line.

"It was carnage really, but Boro was the number one place I wanted to come from the start really. I turned a few other clubs down and then, for whatever reason, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen at Boro. I was panicking a bit but then there were a few more conversations and we managed to get it done with about half an hour to go."

Edmundson is now desperate to achieve a third successive promotion, having gone up with Ipswich in the two previous years.

“It was an incredible experience at Ipswich, starting in League One and then two promotions one after the other," he told the club website.

"I enjoyed my time there, but I wanted a new challenge. I know what it takes to achieve promotion now and here there’s the facilities and the players to go and do that.

"If I can help the team in any way, I will do my best to do that. I’m a defender, and I like defending. But Boro are a team that play great football, so I do also like to get on the ball. The lads have made a good start to the season, knocking the ball about nicely in the ‘Boro way’ so I’ve been really impressed."

Impressed on the pitch and settled off it - with a new best pal and a familiar face offering a helping hand.

He said: “It’s been great so far. I’m staying in the hotel with Neto at the moment so I’ve quickly became best friends with him, practising my Brazilian dancing!

"The lads have all been brilliant with me. I know Clarkey from previous clubs and he’s a top lad and top professional. He’s took me under his wing a bit so far.”