Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has praised the influence made by keeper Victor Valdes since he came to the club.

Boro signed the 34 year old over the summer after he was released by Manchester United having fallen out of favour with former United boss Louis van Gaal.

"I cannot speak about what is happening at Liverpool but my experience with Victor is that he's improving a lot," Karanka said ahead of the visit of Jurgen Klopp's side on Wednesday evening.

"He's the player who we wanted to bring in because he's an amazing keeper and a leader in the changing room.

"At the beginning he wasn't at the level he is now but it is understandable. He came from a long period of not playing and before that he came from Barcelona.

"For him it was difficult at the beginning. Maybe I helped him, I had a few meetings with him and now he's doing well.

"As a player I had similar experiences. I have the same mentality as a coach that I had when I was a player. I lived in my career something similar to Victor here."