As things stand (as mentioned by KP above) it looks as though Rogers will be staying, Villa pleading poverty and they are looking at a Norwich player.
Come on BORO.
@selwynoz Remember Chris Wilder?
Chris Wilder is keen to bolster his squad during this month’s transfer window as he aims to drag the Yorkshire club out of the relegation zone.
Luke Thomas joined Sheffield United on a season-long loan deal in the summer following Leicester’s relegation from the Premier League.
The 22-year-old left-back featured regularly under former Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom – making nine starts under the coach – but has found himself out of favour since his dismissal last month.
Thomas has started just one of Wilder’s first six games in charge since his return to Bramall Lane as Heckingbottom’s replacement.
Wilder is keen to bolster his side in the January window and with funds stretched at Bramall Lane and TEAMtalk sources have confirmed that he is ready to sacrifice Thomas to free up another loan spot in his squad.
The manager has a number of interesting targets on his transfer shortlist, with Villarreal attacker Ben Brereton Diaz – who left Blackburn Rovers in the summer – among those he admires.
Up the Boro!
Interesting signing - he was on a season-long loan at Sheffield United but the deal was terminated by mutual consent two weeks ago - he had only played in one game since Chris Wilder arrived and it looks like he had been playing as a left wing-back up until then. Wonder if there was a falling out with Wilder as I thought he played with wing-backs?
OK, just seen your post - looks like Wilder needs another loan slot
Though if he's been playing a lot in the PL then you would think he will be picked ahead of Engel
@werdermouth. A strange one in some ways. Apparently he has a high number of games for Leicester in the Premier and Europe. Also he is apparently out of contract in the summer.
It does appear that possibly Leicester/Maresca do not rate him??
Bangura, the Internet are saying has a hamstring injury and could now miss the rest of the season. Hence outer new signing.
Now I know nothing about football injuries, however Salah has a hamstring injury and should only be out 3 to 4 weeks according to Klopp. Does Bangura require an operation?
@pedro. It could be that Bangura has a tear in the hamstring which is more severe than Salah’s and will take longer to heal either with or without an operation, possibly. 😎
@k-p-in-spain I appreciate it is only what you read, however, I did read Salah's was a tear??
Dad " What position did you play" reply " Left Back ........ In The dressing room " What is going on , I know they wanted Thomas in the summer , what does it say to the other two, and what is this cold shoulder to McNair, he's not that bad , can play in several positions,
Carrick as some strange decisions at times, Mcgree on the bench, Van at RB, not helping is career there, Obrien out of position , I'm just confused at times, maybe that's why we're so inconsistent.
@gt McNair in my opinion, has not been that great in games before his injury
@malcolm he's not been offered a contract, he hasn't been that bad considering,
@gt. In my opinion PM can do a job in the back line but is not a specialist defender and given our defensive frailties is not an ideal solution.
He has not been offered a contract as far as we are aware.
As in previous seasons, and as with the likes of JH, contracts are often not discussed until the end of the season, rather than at this point in time when the transfer window is open and anything could happen.
I have been critical of our defending for a number of seasons, not just our defenders but as a team generally and until that is addressed we will always struggle to make the top six, with the top two places unachievable if we continue to defend as we have done for a while.
On Tuesday our defeat was, to a large degree, of our own making but what it highlighted to me was how big a gap in quality there is between PL and Championship players; particularly their defenders who were much quicker, stronger and more skilled than ours.
I have long been an admirer of DF and always felt that sooner or later we would have to accept a bid for him from a PL side; on Tuesday’s performance he looked no more than an average Championship defender, as did others in the side.
It appeared to me that the game had moved on with PL defenders being more skilful and comfortable on the ball, whilst DF and others had stood still. It pains me to say this given that as he is one of our own and I always want them to do well.
HH also looked out of place on the night and was far from the assured and confident midfielder we have been used to seeing; it may have been just one of those nights and at least he has youth on his side.
I couldn’t however see a lot of PL sides pushing for his signature based on that display. Hopefully, given his age, he will prove me wrong but just not yet.
I didn’t expect us to go through on Tuesday but I was shocked by how big a gap in quality there was between the PL and the rest of the leagues, which clearly has been distorted by the unequal distribution of TV money.
I am now convinced that a sustained period of existence in the PL is beyond us and also the majority of clubs presently outside the current set up, which favours the few.
A sad state of affairs in my view and one in which Football seems to mirror society, where things are presently not getting any better for the majority and the well off minority are just concerned about themselves. 😎
I think that the main issue with PM is that, because he dates back to an earlier regime he is on a very high salary and the club need to clear some space under Sustainability Rules'. That doesn't mean that he couldn't be offered a contract on a substantially reduced salary but that isn't a recipe for good club-player relations and McNair isn't that good that we have to keep him.
Given the track record of the recruitment team in finding Lenihan, Clarke, Bangura, Engel, Van Den Berg and Ayling plus the keepers, my guess is that they reckon on finding a good young replacement defender who fits the new strategy.
UTB
@k-p-in-spain I think a reality check is required , both in tactics for certain games and personel , it goes back to the last five games and play offs of last season, is the motivation there or certain players can't handle the competition on a regular basis seems not .
I guess when you see how the clubs promoted from the Championship last year have struggled this season - especially Burnley who won the league at a canter - then the leap is obviously a big one and maybe playing like Man City or Arsenal in the Championship with Championship players only works against other Championship teams. All PL players have to be comfortable on the ball and think quickly and have strength and skill - if not they are easily found out.
Maybe promoted clubs should be more pragmatic - which means focusing on defending well, having a tough midfield and buying a few players with pace that can trouble the opposition - that's what Boro did against Chelsea in the first leg but less so in the 2nd. Trying to imitate Man City and the other top clubs with players who are below the level will likely get you found out pretty quickly - head coaches need to adapt to the ability of their players and not hope they will ultimately become top players with practice.
OK, it looks easy on the eye but heavy defeats never look pretty no matter how well-intentioned the style of play is - it may work against most clubs in the Championship with the players we've got now (and more relevant the players the opposition have) but if Boro do somehow get promoted then I hope some realism is taken on board. There's no place to hide in the PL and bad starts are rarely recovered from by teams who were not prepared.
@werdermouth I agree entirely with your argument around which system a team should adopt.
Of course there is pressure from possibly the Hierarchy of the particular club and certainly the Fans, to play nice easy on the eye football as you stated. The major problem now, is the wall to wall football shown on the TV, with a large percentage showing the bigger clubs the play out from the back and doing it very well.
So, modern and upcoming Coaches, in the Championship especially, are wedded to this system, as is Michael Carrick.
MC appears to be totally committed to it with very little change, unless forced by lack of player choice. So, no Plan B and certainly no hoof the ball clear, even when under immense pressure, as against Chelsea. We do NOT have sufficient players, even for the Championship, to play that system, week in, week out, especially against the better footballing sides.
As KP said, and many others including myself, the defensive part of the team has been poor for a number of seasons, under a number of different Coaches. Last season it was relatively poor and that has continued into this season even with a change of personnel. Last season, we got away with it somewhat because the Team knew, we could come back from a goal down and win.
I honestly think, MC has to be more flexible with his team selection and system played, even if we had a full squad to choose from. We have lost far to many points from goals scored by the opposition from unenforced errors.
Alan Shearer was quite critical of Middlesbrough for the way we played against Chelsea in the second leg and of Burnley for their continued Man City Lite, approach to playing, when it was going to be ever so difficult to carry out.
As for the EPL, I thought that Luton would have been the whipping boys and firmly entrenched at the bottom. However, with a more pragmatic approach, which is to obtain more points than three other teams, they possibly could be successful given a slice of luck. Middlesbrough will need a big slice of luck to obtain sixth place.
From CJ
Middlesbrough will be hoping to keep their squad as intact as possible until the summer, with less than a week remaining in the January transfer window.
Morgan Rogers has been the subject of solid interest from Aston Villa this month, with the Premier League side keen on the 21-year-old forward who joined Boro from Manchester City six months ago. Boro would prefer to keep Rogers, however, and are, as a result, stern in their stance to only sell for an eight-figure fee.
With Michael Carrick's squad plagued by injuries for much of the campaign, it remains to be seen, which, if any, other players potentially move. With an 11 pm deadline on Thursday, February 1, we look at the players who could potentially leave.
READ MORE: Morgan Rogers' Middlesbrough future takes fresh transfer twist amid Unai Emery's warning
Morgan Rogers
Villa have been linked with Norwich City forward Jonathan Rowe, while boss Unai Emery has cast doubts over their attempts to sign Rogers this month, claiming they don't have too much money to spend. With three-and-a-half years left on his Boro contract, if the top-flight side don't match Boro's valuation, they won't get their man.
That said, Villa have offloaded Leander Dendoncker this week and reports suggest they could also sell Jhon Duran to Chelsea, which might free up funds to make a late push to land Boro's 21-year-old prospect. With Rogers keen on the Premier League move, it will remain a saga that will go on until either the two clubs agree a fee, or the window closes.
Paddy McNair
Having recently returned from injury, it means McNair is hypothetically fit enough to make a move this month. With just six months remaining on his Boro contract, it means Boro would surely have to consider any offers for the Northern Ireland international should they come.
As things stand, there is little noise surrounding any interest, and if there suddenly were to be, it would leave Boro with a dilemma. More likely than not to leave the club in the summer as things stand, the opportunity to sell for a fee this month would be attractive from a business view, but still an important squad player, he'd surely need to be replaced if he did leave. Luke Ayling, Anfernee Dijksteel and Luke Thomas are capable of playing centre-back too though.
Alex Gilbert
Asked earlier this month if the lesser-used Alex Gilbert could leave the club on loan this month, Carrick admitted it was a possibility that the club would look at later in the window. Since joining in the summer from Brentford B with the hope of making his mark in senior football, Gilbert is yet to start a game for Boro.
Any potential exit was always going to be left until as late as possible, with Boro short on options due to Riley McGree and Sammy Silvera being away on international duty. And with Rogers potentially leaving too, it brings into question whether Boro might need Gilbert as an option for the remainder of the season anyway.
Matthew Hoppe
The USA forward returned to Boro back on November as his loan spell at San Jose Earthquakes ended without the option to make the move permanently taken. Sources suggested that was because Hoppe was keen to return and show Carrick how much he'd grown, but the former Schalke man is yet to appear in a Boro squad, with Carrick claiming earlier in the month that he was injured and unavailable. He was spotted back in training this week in club pictures released after Luke Thomas' arrival.
However, there remains a possibility that Hoppe could still leave Boro this month. With their season running at different times to England, so too do MLS transfer windows. Most likely where Hoppe would end up if he were to leave, the MLS transfer window for international players doesn't open until Wednesday, January 31 and is open until April 23.
Cal Kavanagh
It's been a successful season for Boro's under-21s so far and many could possibly go out on loan moves before the end of the transfer window. While many will be more likely to head to non-league clubs where Thursday's deadline doesn't apply, there are some who might be able to cut it at League Two level or above, with Boro naturally wanting their youth prospects to play at as high a level as possible.
Cal Kavanagh is the most likely, having left Boro on loan in the last two January transfer windows. Dan Nkrumah joined from Leyton Orient in the summer after playing in League Two previously. He too could potentially attract interest given what look like physical capabilities of stepping up at senior level. Bryant Bilongo, too, has made the Boro bench of late and could really benefit from time out on loan now Boro's defensive options have been boosted by new arrivals and injury returnees.
Like anything, if done well it is effective and looks impressive but the main purpose of playing out from the back is to retain possession - so the argument of kicking it long is to avoid giving the ball back to the opposition in their own half so they can build another attack. However, if playing out from the back sees your team lose possession in your own half - or worse still on the edge of your own box - then it has defeated the purpose of attempting that tactic.
Where Boro often go wrong with playing out of the back in the Championship is those who end up receiving the ball end up losing possession when trying to execute a pass to the forwards. Against Chelsea Boro frequently lost possession in their own half with not many players behind the ball to defend the next attack. I fear this will always be the problem playing against better sides who have the players to press your defence higher up the pitch.
I watched the Spurs v Man City FA Cup game yesterday and the speed of the game and pressing was impressive - as was the ability of nearly all the players on both sides to retain possession by their ability to control the ball and make quick accurate passes. With the best will in the world, Fry and Clarke were never going to manage that and neither were Hackney, Howson, Barlaser and many others.
This why City, Spurs and the other top clubs play out from the back as once they lose the ball it's hard for them to get it back. Boro may have to accept they are going to lose the ball against better teams - the question is where would you prefer to lose possession. Definitely not 25 yards or less from your own goal so it requires something a bit more pragmatic when the opposition is better than you. Fine if you think your team is better than the opposition and you want to get the better of them and get your better players on the ball.
We saw how Boro did much better in the first leg with a more pragmatic approach and also against Villa - the second leg against Chelsea saw ambition fall at the feet of ability.
West Ham made a late approach to hijack the deal for Middlesbrough forward Morgan Rogers to join Aston Villa in a £12.5million transfer, according to the Sunday People.
The newspaper reported in their print edition [28 January, page 63] that the Hammers failed in a late move for Rogers, which has now cleared the path for him to join Villa.
As a result, David Moyes’ side have now withdrawn their interest in the winger, with Boro naming a high asking price due to a sell-on clause in his deal that would see Manchester City profit from his departure.
Do we accept this if true
https://twitter.com/Boropolis/status/1751637193464946961?t=SnvddcCOWN_htNurfBlOCA&s=19
@paulinboro. Defends on the configuration of the bid. If too much of the headline fee is in add ons, aka Spence, then NO.
We still hold most on the best cards, however, we also have to know, that as much as we all want Rogers to succeed, he also may not become a 20 / 30 million player. Certainly with MFC.
If we can clear TEN million after paying City their 25% or what ever cut, and subtracting our one million fee for him. Well I think that is a good deal.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
The Northern Echo now running with the same story. Probably got legs to it then.
Will Evans striker with Newport has to be a target move after his display today against Man United
OFB
It also reported that Boro are yet to respond. Also Sky Sports report that Villa have submitted a third bid but don’t say how much. Birmingham live (gazette) report the bid is £15m.
Come on BORO.
@exmil. The 15 million rumour has probably emanated from one source and your link, FLW are saying 15 including add ons.
I believe that if the Add Ons including fee paid, when subtracted do not give us 10 million clear, then no deal.
@pedro Other reports state that the last offer was £7.5m with the rest being add ons, then as the programme says “No Deal”, hope we have learnt from the Spence deal where most of the deal was add ons which we will never see.
Come on BORO.
It is a bit of a dilemma in this Rogers scenario. Do we sell him if we get the right deal but then who can we get to replace him and how much would we spend, not easy with time running out on transfers.
@malcolm Hopefully, if what we are reading has an element of truth in it.
MFC appear to have rejected Villa's third offer and stated their asking price. OK, it may not be quite as easy as that, but for me it is down to Villa, do they want him or not at the price we are asking.
YES OR NO today, would then possibly allow us to bring in another player, preferably a striker, before Thursday. Hopefully Mr Scott and his team have at least one or two that could be either bought or loaned in if the latter is the best overall solution.
The trouble is of course, that in the EPL, there has been very little transfer movement, so probably very few options for loans. After that, League 1? or someone from abroad?