Source: Daily_Mail
Gareth Southgate digs his heels in to keep Robert Huth at Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has warned potential buyers it will take an 'exceptional' bid to persuade him to part with central defender Robert Huth.
The Germany international, who celebrates his 25th birthday on Tuesday, has been linked with a move to Stoke in recent days with the transfer window due to close in two weeks.
Southgate freely admits he could struggle to hang on to his £6million signing if he decides he wants to go, but is desperate to do just that.
He said: 'I would expect there will be interest in him (Huth), but unless that interest meets an exceptional valuation, then he is a player we would like to hang on to.
'A lot of the time, it depends on the players as well and whether he has a desire to stay here.
'Now Robert obviously would like to play at the highest possible level - he has got a World Cup with Germany this summer, so I don't take it for granted that we can hang on to him.
'But by the same token, it's got to be a move that attracts him and that's right for all parties and at the moment, we are not in that situation.'
Berlin-born Huth joined Boro from Chelsea inAugust 2006 and after a run of dreadful luck with injuries, has finallyestablished himself as a robust member of Southgate's rearguard.
Indeed, he has worn the captain's armband this season with Emanuel Pogatetz still on the injured list.
Meanwhile, Southgate confirmed that the club is yet to receive a bid for Turkey international Tuncay Sanli, who has been linked repeatedly with Aston Villa, while talks are continuing with several clubs over the future of record signing Afonso Alves.
The manager had previously revealed that the Teessiders accepted a bid from one club, understood to be a Qatari outfit, for the Brazilian, who is now being linked with a return to Holland with Ajax.
Southgate said: 'There are no firm bids on the table for Tuncay. As I said last week, we have had one bid for Afonso, which we accepted, but it doesn't look as if he wants to go to the club that made that bid.
'We are in talks with a couple of other clubs on him, but in terms of firm offers on the table, that's it.'
Southgate, whose side travels to Scunthorpe on Tuesday night, also played down reports linking him with a £700,000 move for Aberdeen striker Lee Miller.
