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Stewart Downing benefiting from Middlesbrough's Premier League return, says manager Aitor Karanka

Stewart Downing is back where he belongs as he tries to help Middlesbrough establish themselves as a Premier League club once again.

The 32-year-old England international came through the ranks at his home-town club, sitting on the bench as a teenager when they won the League Cup in 2004, later cutting his teeth in European football and making himself a regular first-teamer at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro's fall from grace - they were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2008-09 season - saw him head for Aston Villa in a £12million move, and it took him six years to work his way home via Liverpool and West Ham.