The £12 million man was met with a carnival atmosphere after arriving on Teeside earlier this month, but has failed to produce fireworks in his two substitute appearances against Fulham in the league and then Sheffield United in the FA Cup.

The player himself has said he needs some time to rediscover his match sharpness after not having played for the last three weeks, and Downing has echoed the sentiment.

“The lads up front are doing well, so he has got a task on his hands to get in the team, but I’m sure he will because he is a quality player,” he said.

“We will let him find his feet a little bit and he will hopefully bag a few goals in for us.

“Obviously he is a little bit unfit at the minute because he has missed a lot of football. He had a quiet game on his debut against Fulham, but he had only had one day in training and it was a hard game to come into.

“I know how hard it is to settle somewhere because I’ve been out on loan myself and he has also got the language barrier to cope with.

“But he will definitely come good. Hopefully he will soon be banging the goals in because we need a goalscorer.”

Downing also commented on the fact that he is yet to put-pen-to-paper on the new five-year deal he commited to last week.

“The contract is all agreed but there are still some things to iron out. It should be done any time this week.

“You can get unsettled because there is a lot of talk. I’m glad it’s out of the way and I know where I’m going to be playing my football.

“I think the team is on the up. That’s what the manager has said and there are players he is going to bring in.”