Source: Telegraph
Middlesbrough furious at Tottenham bid for Stewart Downing
According to the News of the World, Spurs are understood to have put in a £6 million offer for the 24-year-old, less than half the value Boro believe he is worth.[LNB]Boro are resolved not to sell for anything less than £15m, despite manager Gareth Southgate being told he must sell before he can buy.[LNB]Southgate does not want to lose one of his star players, especially for such a "derisory offer", and Boro chief executive Keith Lamb said: "Who on earth do Spurs think they are?[LNB]"They bleated away when Dimitar Berbatov left for Manchester United in the summer but they sold at top dollar.[LNB]"Then they want to snatch other players for derisory offers and try to unsettle players. That is what has happened here. Their offer is a joke.[LNB]"Why would we sell our best players to our nearest rivals? Stewart is going nowhere."[LNB]Fellow midfielder Gary O'Neil is also being courted by other Premier League clubs, with Portsmouth the most interested.[LNB]Lamb said: "Portsmouth are at it as well, sniffing around Gary O'Neil, trying to get him through the back door.[LNB]"We're close to Spurs and Portsmouth in the table. Why would we sell these clubs our best players?"[LNB]
