Source: Northern_Echo
Time to talk
GARETH Southgate admits it is imperative Middlesbrough make progress with Adam Johnson’s contract negotiations before the start of the January transfer window, but feels the club’s strong start to the season has boosted their chances of holding on to the winger.
Johnson’s current contract is due to expire in June, meaning he would be free to talk to prospective suitors in January, and while Boro would be due a compensatory fee if he was to leave at the end of his deal, the January window represents their final chance to secure his market value.
The Teessiders were determined to rebuff any offers for the England Under-21 international in the summer transfer window, but the situation would be markedly different if Johnson and his representatives were to show no desire to sign a new deal between now and the New Year.
And with discussions taking place on an almost daily basis, Southgate admits it is essential that progress is made in the next three months.
“It’s important that we’re able to get him tied down,”
said the Middlesbrough boss, who will hand Johnson his seventh consecutive league start when the Teessiders travel to Sheffield Wednesday this evening. “I would like something to happen before January, but then I’d like to do it tomorrow if I could.
“I would like to have done it five weeks ago, but unfortunately circumstances haven’t allowed us to do that. I know people might think we sit scratching our backsides here, but we are very active in all of those things. Sometimes, it takes a very long time.
“We haven’t been able to get things to a conclusion, but he knows what I think about him and he knows that we think this is a great place for him to play his football at this moment in his career.
“He can have a big impact on our season. He would be a tribunal, so it’s not as though he would walk out of here for nothing, but nevertheless it’s not a case of us wanting him to leave the club, we want him to be here.”
Johnson’s attacking form has been a key feature in the strong start to the season that has lifted Boro to third in the Championship table ahead of tonight’s trip to Hillsborough.
The 22-year-old has scored four goals in six league games as Southgate’s side have lived up to their billing as one of the pre-season favourites for promotion.
The winger is undoubtedly a good enough player to be playing in the Premier League, and Southgate feels he will be more likely to sign a new deal at the Riverside with Boro mounting a credible promotion push.
“It’s important we’ve started well,” he said. “The priority for all of our players is to play in the Premier League if they can.
“We want to do that by getting there ourselves, so yes, I would say our chances of promotion would have a big impact on Adam’s decision.”
Boro’s promotion prospects would be enhanced further by the arrival of one or two loan signings, and while Southgate’s attempts to complete at least one deal ahead of tonight’s game have failed, talks with both Sean St Ledger and Caleb Folan remain ongoing.
St Ledger was close to completing a three-month loan move from Preston on Friday, but tests revealed a knee problem that has the potential to worsen.
Medical opinion on the injury varies, but the fact that St Ledger came through Preston’s 2-0 win over Swansea at the weekend suggests that a deal should still be possible.
Preston boss Alan Irvine is certainly resigned to losing the services of the centre-half, but further discussions are needed before the transfer is completed.
The same is true of Folan’s proposed switch from Hull, as while the striker is keen to move to Middlesbrough, it is understood that the two clubs are struggling to agree the terms of the deal.
The need for extra bodies increased at the weekend, with Andrew Taylor sustaining an ankle ligament injury that is likely to sideline him for at least a month. The full-back is expected to have a scan tomorrow to determine whether an operation is necessary.
“Andrew has ankle ligament damage,” confirmed Southgate. “But we won’t know the length of time until a couple of days time. He’s going to see somebody later this week, but I would have thought it will be weeks rather than days he’ll be out for.”
Chris Riggott will be sidelined for two months after undergoing a second knee operation at the weekend, but Emanuel Pogatetz and Didier Digard will both make a comeback in tomorrow’s reserves game with Leeds.
Boro: Coyne; McMahon, Wheater, Hines, Grounds; O’Neil, Arca, Williams, Johnson; Lita, Emnes.
