Middlesbrough set to battle Rangers, Sunderland and Newcastle United for Championship ace as hopes of Rotherham United star signing new deal 'receding'

Middlesbrough have moved into 12th with four wins from their last five league games, as they returned to action last weekend with a dramatic 2-1 win over Luton Town at the Riverside Stadium. Carrick’s side were one place above the relegation zone at the end of October but a fine run of form has propelled them into the top half and the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder wants to make sure he keeps a hold of his key players in next month’s transfer window.

“We’ve done well and so we want to push to keep improving. But when you’re doing well that can attract other types of attention,” replied Carrick when asked about the importance of keeping key players.

"That’s just how it is and from my perspective, I love to see our lads playing well. That might mean people are looking at them, but of course we want to keep our best players.

"In the position we are in a league like this, we’re looking forward, we want to improve and we want to keep getting better. And obviously to do that we want to keep our better players.”

As the January window approaches, here are the latest transfer rumours from the Riverside Stadium…

Middlesbrough enter race for Bellingham

Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and Sunderland are amongst the clubs keen on 17-year-old Championship prospect Jobe Bellingham. That is according to TEAMtalk, who also report that Rangers, Nice and Bayer Leverkusen are also monitoring the teenager.

The Birmingham player is the brother of England star Jude Bellingham, who left Birmingham for Borussia Dortmund in 2020. Jobe has made 12 appearances in the Championship this season.

Speaking about the player, Blues head coach John Eustace said: “Jobe is very level-headed, he gets his head down and he works hard. Jobe is an individual who has had a fantastic season until now. We’ve given him lots of minutes and he is developing really well. Obviously we gave him his first start in the league against Sunderland which was a good experience for him.

“Everyone is very proud of Jobe and the way he is getting on with his business. He has only just turned 17 so he is still such a young lad. But even though he’s 17, the way he is handling everything is a credit to himself.”

Rotherham dealt Dan Barlaser blow

The Northern Echo report that Rotherham United’s hopes of holding onto midfielder Dan Barlaser are ‘receding’ with Middlesbrough keen on the player. Barlaser is believed to be one of five players offered a contract extension by the Millers, with several key men in the final year of their respective deals at the New York Stadium.

However, it is claimed that Barlaser is “seemingly unwilling” to sign the new deal offered to him. Speaking ahead of Rotherham’s fixture against West Brom, Matt Taylor says the club are yet to have a response on any of the contract offers.

He said: “No-one has said ‘yes’ or ‘no’ right now. But we are working as hard as we possibly can and putting our best in front of these players and I’m sure we will get some sort of clarity in the next few weeks.”

If none of the players since a new deal, it could put the Millers in a difficult position in January as they ponder if it is worth selling the players or risk losing them on a free transfer at the end of the season.