The 20-year-old Sparta Rotterdam striker saw at close hand how dangerous the Brazilian, Boro's record signing at £12.7million, can be during his time in Holland with Heerenveen.

But after completing a £3.2million switch to the Riverside Stadium Emnes is desperate to learn from the older man and said: "He is a big player and I believe I can learn a lot from him. To be able to play with a player like that can only improve me".

He added: "Since I was a young boy, I have always dreamt about playing in a foreign competition like the English one or the Spanish or the Italian.

explosive player

"The more I got to know the English competition, the more I got interested in it.

"The most important thing for me this season is to get to a level and be able to compete with any other player, to play a lot of games and play as many minutes as I possibly can."

Emnes is expected to be used as a right-sided winger by manager Gareth Southgate, although he can also play on the left or through the middle and cites Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo as a role model.

He said: "I love Cristiano Ronaldo, just for the way he plays and also because he plays in the same position I do. He is an explosive player."