Boro exit Barton chase
31 May 2007 - 10:02:14
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has ruled his club out of the running for Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton.
Southgate says the price being quoted for the 24-year-old England international, around £5.5million, is too much to pay out, despite Boro having missed out on the signing of Scott Brown.
The Riverside chief also admitted that Barton's catalogue of off-field problems also played a part in his decision to pull the plug on any approach.
He told the Evening Gazette: "I don't think we will be pursuing Joey Barton for a mixture of things really.
"There was a £2million difference in the fee that was quoted last year and the fee that is being quoted now. Last year at that time yes, it was something that I was interested in.
"But things move on and I feel that it wouldn't be the right thing for us now."
Meanwhile, Boro centre-half Robert Huth has been given the all-clear to begin his rehabilitation after ankle surgery, with the need for a second operation now ruled out.
