Middlesbrough are concerned that they could lose defender Dael Fry during the January transfer window, amid interest from Premier League champions Manchester City, a report from TeamTalk has claimed.

City are expected to be on the hunt for additional defensive options when the transfer window reopens at the turn of the year following recent injuries to central defensive pair Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, and are said to have taken a keen interest in Fry as a potential option for that role.

Fry joined Middlesbrough at the age of seven, and has gone on to become a big presence in the club's backline, having been handed the captain's armband by new manager Jonathan Woodgate at the start of this season.

Despite that, 'Boro are still thought to be concerned about losing Fry midway through the season, with City reportedly being joined by Premier League rivals Tottenham, Everton and Wolves.

Two red cards, TEN yellow cards... Click here to see the 7 dirtiest Championship matches of all-time

Although 'Boro are will be reluctant to lose Fry, the report goes onto state that the Championship side's financial situation means that they would accept an offer of £20million for the 22-year-old.

Since graduating to 'Boro's senior side in 2015, Fry has gone onto make a total of 70 appearances in all competitions for the club, and signed a new five-year contract at The Riverside Stadium in April 2018.

The Verdict

You can certainly see why Middlesbrough are worried here.

With the size of the clubs who are said to be interested in Fry, you feel the opportunities on offer to the defender here would be hard for him to turn down.

That however would be a big concern for 'Boro, who already look to be short on numbers in their squad, and will not want to be losing someone as influential as Fry to make that situation worse.

Even so, a fee of £20million is a big one for a Championship player, and it would at least give them the opportunity to reinvest the money they receive for Fry on the rest of the squad.