Marten de Roon already has his sights set on a move to a club bigger than Middlesbrough.

The 25-year-old Dutch midfielder has impressed at Boro since making a £12million move from Italian club Atalanta in the summer.

De Roon is well aware that the Premier League's big clubs are out of his range but feels he can improve enough to play for this weekend's opponents Everton, once he becomes the best player at the Riverside Stadium.

"I am incredibly lucky - I play for a good club and live in a nice area - but I am ambitious as well," he told Voetbal International magazine.

"I won't get to play for Manchester City, or another club among the top five in England.

"But I do think that I can develop myself to the level needed to play for a club like Everton.

"But there is a long way for me to go. I first need to become the best player at Middlesbrough - that is the next step for me."