Boro face Johnson battle

29 May 2009 11:13
Middlesbrough face a huge battle to hang onto Adam Johnson this summer, skysports.com understands. Chelsea and Tottenham are understood to be leading the chase for Johnson, but Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal are all keeping close tabs on him, whilst Spanish giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also monitoring his situation. Johnson has just 12 months left on his current deal at The Riverside - and the Sunderland-born wide-man looks unlikely to put pen-to-paper on a fresh contract. Johnson has told Boro he is keeping his options open, after he rejected their latest offer to renew his deal. Now Johnson knows that he is being tracked by a host of clubs who are all ready to try and tempt newly-relegated Boro into selling. Boro do no want to sell their prized assets, but their biggest summer fundraiser was due to be the sale of Stewart Downing, however that is now off until January at the earliest after he had a pin inserted into his broken foot. And with just a year left on his current deal, Johnson will be free to join whoever he wants this time next year, although Boro will be due compensation. However, compensation is nearly always well below market value and because of that Boro could be tempted to sell. Johnson will take part in the European Under-21 Championship this summer, which you can see live on Sky Sports, and he will be keen to impress in Sweden.

Source: SKY_Sports