Boss Tight-Lipped Over Striker Talk
BOSS Gareth Southgate was giving little away this afternoon amid a frenzy of speculation linking Boro with a host of top strikers.
Brazilian hotshots Afonso Alves and Fred are among the names the club are said to be tracking as the January transfer merry-go-round gets into gear.
Current Dutch Player of the Year Alves, 26, scored a stunning 34 goals last season, while Lyon's Fred, 24, has long been tipped as one of the country's most promising striking talents.
England forwards Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch and veterans Cristiano Lucarelli of Shakhtar Donetsk and Hakan Sukur of Galatasaray have also been mentioned as possible targets.
But asked today whether there were any developments to report Southgate said: "No. We've been linked with everybody and a lot of our players have been linked with moves.
"At the moment we haven't made any bids for any players and we have received any bids for any players.
"We've made enquiries about players at other clubs and had one or two enquiries about our players going to other clubs on loan.
"But as we stand here there's nothing doing really."
Southgate has previously hinted that there would be no big money signings during the transfer window but the speculation has continued unabated.
As for whether there would be any major outgoings, Southgate said nobody would leave unless he believed it was right for the club.
Asked whether he had to sell to buy he said: "It depends on how much we're going to spend.
"We don't have a bottomless pit but we will only sell players if it's right for the club. I don't think that's the case right now.
"You want to keep everybody who's happy to be here. As far as I'm concerned nobody leaves unless it's for the benefit of the club, whether financially or playing-wise.
"We've no plans for that to happen at this moment in time but things can change overnight in football.
"We're all realistic about that, we know transfer deals happen and can happen very quickly. We would like to strengthen if we can but we're not in a position where that's close at the moment."
