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Steve Agnew says all-action Marten de Roon has enjoyed a "terrific" first season in English football, praising the Dutchman for not only settling well at Boro but adapting to a new role.

De Roon caught the eye in Italy last season but his 'Wavebreaker' nickname told the tale of a midfielder who played a deeper role and looked to disrupt the opposition.

While he started out as a holding midfielder for Boro this term, a tactical switch early doors saw the 26-year-old shifted forward slightly into a more advanced role as part of a midfield three.

In that system, de Roon is encouraged to get forward and offer support for the attackers, resulting in the midfielder chipping in with five goals this season, the first of which came against this afternoon's opponents Manchester City at the Etihad back in November and the latest the matchwinner against Sunderland on Wednesday.

"He's had a really good season," said Agnew of de Roon's debut campaign in England.

"Marten has been terrific. He's hard-working, a great lad, trains hard every day, loves his football and he's a top professional.

"And obviously he's had his rewards in terms of the goals he's scored for the team. It's not easy to score goals in the Premier League and certainly not easy to arrive late in the box as a midfield player, which he's done on numerous occasions this season."

Adam Clayton has made an impressive step-up from the Championship to the Premier League and has made the holding role his own for Boro.

That's meant de Roon has had to adapt his game but Agnew believes the Dutch international has demonstrated that he's a rounded midfielder.

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"He's adjusted really well," he said.

"He played in the deeper role, certainly when he was in Italy with Atalanta, and he's played in a more advanced role (here) but I think he can do both.

"He's adaptable, he can run from box-to-box, he can take the ball and switch the play and has done really well for us.”

After Boro's defeat to Manchester United in Steve Agnew's first game in charge, Jose Mourinho hailed de Roon as "phenomenal", a boost for the midfielder, no doubt, but Agnew insists the player is more focused on impressing staff and teammates at Rockliffe.

He said: "I think the most important thing is that he has praise from the people within the football club and he has praise from his teammates.”