NO one has claimed more Championship assists than Finn Azaz this season. The Middlesbrough forward is one of six players to have directly set up five goals this term, but he does not expect to be topping the chart come the end of the campaign. Instead, he fully expects one of his team-mates to have stolen the crown.

Ben Doak currently has three league assists to his name, as well as the goal that he scored in the win over Stoke City. On the evidence of Middlesbrough’s most recent two matches however, not to mention Scotland’s two games during the international break, that tally could be set to rocket in the remainder of the season.

Doak is both a man on a mission and a player in form. Having successfully forced his way into Boro’s starting line-up following his summer loan move from Liverpool, the winger is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most exciting teenagers in the British game.

He is making heads turn, and when it comes to his team-mates, the 18-year-old is also reshaping the way those around him play. When Doak gets the ball, something generally happens. So, for the likes of Azaz, it pays to get into a position where it is easy to be picked out by Boro’s creative sensation

“You always look to get into a good position when he gets the ball because you can see what he’s capable of,” said Azaz, who has been on international duty himself in the last fortnight with the Republic of Ireland. “I think we’re only going to get better at that as well, because it’s still early days, learning each other’s games etc.

“I love how he plays, and I think it benefits me because it takes the attention away from me and offers me a bit more space.

“He’s outstanding. That link has been there anyway, but it does feel like it’s growing and growing even more. Hopefully, it can be a relationship that can flourish throughout the season.”

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It would be wrong to say that Doak was an unknown quantity prior to moving to Teesside. He had made his senior debut with Liverpool, was already on the fringe of the Scotland side and was a loan target for most of the teams in the Championship prior to plumping for Boro.

He was not commanding the kind of attention that has been thrust on him in the last fortnight though, thanks to his Man of the Match performances in Scotland’s wins over Croatia and Poland.

The Scottish press have been falling over themselves to anoint Doak as their nation’s footballing saviour, and while Steve Clarke has been trying to keep a lid on things in his pre and post-match press conferences, even he was forced to concede that the teenager was able to offer his side something completely out of the ordinary.

It will be interesting to see how Doak copes with the extra attention that will inevitably come his way when he resumes domestic action with Boro, starting with this weekend’s trip to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United.

Boro’s senior players will no doubt do all they can to help keep Doak’s feet on the ground, but Azaz does not sense that being in the spotlight will faze the youngster. If anything, it might make him an even more potent weapon.

“He doesn’t care who he’s up against, and isn’t fazed by anything,” said Azaz. “It’s nice to play with him and see him grow out there.

“I speak to Doaky all the time. He’s flying down that right-hand side, and I just tell him to be aware that I will be there for the cut-back. He’s outstanding, as a character and on the pitch.”