Mid-season Middlesbrough, Southampton agreement was a real game-changer on Teesside | OneFootball

Boro signed Gaston Ramirez on loan from Southampton in January 2016, and he would play a vital role in helping the Teessiders win promotion...

Middlesbrough secured the loan signing of attacking midfielder Gaston Ramirez from Southampton in January 2016, and the Uruguayan would play a leading role in helping Aitor Karanka's side win promotion to the Premier League.

Heading into the final days of the winter transfer window of 2016, Karanka was still searching for players who could bolster Boro's bid for promotion.

That search took him to Premier League side Southampton, and on 26 January, Middlesbrough completed the loan signing of then-25-year-old Ramirez for the remainder of the campaign.

With his Saints contract set to expire in the summer, and after finding himself firmly down the pecking order, who knows, the Riverside might just become his permanent home at the conclusion of the 2015/16 season?

All Boro knew at that point was they'd landed a player with Serie A, Premier League and international pedigree who they hoped could make a real impact on their season. What he would achieve on Teesside between then and the end of that campaign, however, would see him forever earn a place in Middlesbrough folklore.

Ramirez quickly came into Karanka's side after his move to the North East, and he would soon become a crucial aspect of Middlesbrough's starting XI.

However, he came close to not being a part of Boro's promotion push whatsoever, as Southampton had initially wanted his £60,000 per-week salary paid in full.

But, with the Saints clearly keen to get the midfielder off their wage bill, the two sides found a compromise that would see the Teessiders pick up £20,000 per-week of his St. Mary's contract.

Ramirez turned out to be worth every single penny of that chunky wage packet for Middlesbrough, as the ability he would showcase over the coming months would see him dance around defenders, seldom give the ball away, and be the architect behind some brilliant and vital Boro goals.

Slotting into the number 10 role, Ramirez was the final piece in Karanka's promotion puzzle, as he provided that creative cog to play ahead of Boro's two excellent and more defensive-minded central midfielders, Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton.

The Uruguayan had everything you would want in an attacking midfielder. A superb touch, fantastic ball control and dribbling ability, a dead ball master, he could score all kinds of goals and finishes with either foot or with his head, and possessed a wonderful creative eye.

Seven goals and four assists in just 18 Championship appearances proves just how crucial he was to Middlesbrough's automatic promotion-winning season, with few players making as big of an impact in as short a time as he did in recent Riverside memory.

But with his contract now set to expire, could Boro convince him to sign a permanent deal in the North East?

Boro snap Ramirez up on a free and land major profit

The answer to that question was yes. Ramirez signed on the dotted line on a free transfer in the summer of 2016.

It was hoped that he could take his scintillating form from the Championship into the Premier League, and provide a major boost to Middlesbrough's Premier League survival bid.

However, Boro's and Ramirez's season didn't go to plan. The Teessiders would be relegated from the top flight, and the Uruguayan would score just twice in 24 Premier League appearances, whilst also providing three assists.

That isn't to say he didn't perform pieces of magic in a Middlesbrough shirt that year as he had done so often in the second tier, as he still provided moments of brilliance that left supporters in awe.

Perhaps his finest moment in a Boro shirt came in a home game against Bournemouth in October, as he scored a goal that to this day, is right up there in most Middlesbrough supporters list of great Riverside goals.

After charging down a shot on the edge of his own box, Ramirez collected the ball midway inside Boro's half and proceeded to charge down the pitch. He left two Cherries players in the dust before reaching the edge of the Bournemouth box.

Most players might panic in this situation as a result of adrenaline and fatigue, but not Ramirez. He calmly performed an exquisite chop from his left foot onto his right that took him past his defender with ease, before placing his effort into the far corner of the net.

A truly magnificent goal, that encapsulated so many of the reasons why Teessiders had come to adore him. However, come the summer of 2017 and with Boro now back in the Championship, he felt it was time to move on.

Serie A side Sampdoria came calling, and it was an offer that he nor Middlesbrough could refuse. The two sides agreed a deal worth around £10m, and so his time on Teesside was over.

In the Championship, Ramirez was a cut above his opposition. He ran rings around defenders and glided across the Riverside turf with a certain level of swagger that bordered on arrogance, but he had the brilliance to back it up.

An inspired signing for Karanka that January, and an integral member of Middlesbrough's promotion-winning side.