Borja Sainz now has a Championship target on his back.

The 23-year-old’s Middlesbrough brace took his tally to 12 goal contributions in 12 league games ahead of the trip to Cardiff.

But head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup feels the leading scorer in the division is now coming in for special treatment as his reputation soars.

“I spoke to him before, I can't remember what game, that he needs to understand he will be a part of the opposition's tactical meetings now,” he said. “He needs to understand that there can be different things going on in the games that maybe we cannot prepare for.

"I could see against Middlesbrough they changed the player on the right back position, which can be a reason, we don't know, but that's something we have to prepare him for. We're talking about that, but it's a great place to be in.

"And at the moment, I also think he said that after the game he has the confidence he believes that every shot he takes at the moment will go in. It's a perfect position for him to be in.”

Thorup rates Sainz as among the best he has worked with in his relatively short coaching career at senior level.

“He's up there. I think he needs to still improve his defensive game, where he can be better and more solid,” he said. “He's quite intense, but he needs to be better in reading these moments when he can do it; where he tracks back and supports a full back, or supports the midfield line.

"That is a step he needs to take before he can really reach the highest possible level. if I only look at him as a as a football player, with his qualities and what he can do in games for us, then he's up there.

"I've not had a player before that can score goals like he's scoring goals. So individual quality is definitely up there.

“That's why it's so exciting. It's exciting for everyone. Exciting for him and for us that he can bring it to a consistent level, and we can also improve the areas of the game where he needs to improve.

"I see a guy at the moment where his mindset is in the right place. His mentality is really, really good.”

Thorup is not taking credit for Sainz’s consistent output, after a debut season to adjust to England.

“How I see football is that what you do as a collective unit is to create the best possible opportunities for the players that can decide the games for you,” he said. “What we try to do every time we play is to create some openings, some patterns, so our best players can arrive in the positions where they can actually do the best things.

“I cannot sit here as a coach and take all the praise for how he's finishing these moments and the goals, because that's individual quality, and that's because he trains a lot on these finishes and is doing everything he can to stay as sharp and as fit as possible.

"He's playing close to 90 minutes every time he's playing, which is fantastic, because if you look at the intensity he also brings into the game it's not on a low level. It takes a lot of discipline. It takes a lot of hard work.

“But what we can try to do as coaches and as a team is to make sure that he recognizes these moments, and he finds himself in these positions and spaces where he can be at his best, and that we can try to create as a team.”