Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock has claimed to the Hartlepool Mail that he wants to build his side around the likes of Dael Fry and Marcus Tavernier amidst transfer interest in the homegrown duo.
Both players have been subject of the interest from Premier League clubs in the past and have been stand out performers for the North East outfit for much of the campaign.
The likes of Burnley have been linked more recently with centre back Fry, whilst Leicester City were said to be eyeing a move for Tavernier back in January.
However it appears that Warnock has made Boro's stance on the future of his key duo very clear after making the following comments recently:
“I think there will be speculation about players leaving and everything like that coming up.
“The lads concerned know, ‘forget what you read in the papers you’re not going anywhere’, and they know how important they are.
“The type of lads that we’ve got that we are talking about are absolute gems, they want to get success, they want the club to go forward .
“You haven’t got anybody knocking on my door saying they want to go to the Premier League or my agent says this or that, they all want Middlesbrough to do well and it’s a great place to be that.”
Both players are currently contracted at the Riverside Stadium until the summer of 2023 and would command significant fees this summer if they were to be snapped up by any of the aforementioned interested parties.
The Verdict
It is no surprise to see Warnock taking such a bullish approach over the futures of two of his key players as both Fry and Tavernier could prove to key to any future success that the club has going forwards into next season.
The interest won't diminish if they continue to perform as they have done and as a result of this, Boro should be fully prepared to name their price in the market when the almost inevitable bids come in.
If anything, I do feel that Fry is the most likely to leave as centre backs are traditionally a lot easier to replace than talented attacking players like Tavernier.
They'll both probably move on to bigger and better things further down the line but for now keeping them on Teesside for another year should be viewed as a priority.