Jonathan Woodgate has admitted that he expects to be fielding calls about his Middlesbrough players in January.

The Teessiders have struggled for form so far this term and find themselves in 20th place in the Championship table as we approach the halfway stage of the season.

As well as that, Woodgate's squad face an uncertain future with seven first team stars approaching the final six months of their contracts.

George Friend, Ryan Shotton, Daniel Ayala, Adam Clayton, Jonny Howson, Marvin Johnson and Rudy Gestede are all out of contract next summer, meaning that they could leave for nothing unless a new contract is agreed.

The only other option is to cash in during the January window in an attempt to recoup some sort of fee.

In addition to those players, Darren Randolph has been attracting plenty of interest from Premier League side West Ham, and speaking of his players' futures, Woodgate says that he won't be surprised if they attract interest in January.

Speaking to the press, as quoted by Teesside Live, Woodgate said: “I want to keep as many players as I can that will benefit the club.

“I can’t really say much more on that really. Hopefully I won't be losing any of them, I don’t want to be losing any of them. They are good players especially the ones who have been playing.

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“I would be watching them if I was an opposition manager. I would be looking at them.

“There's been no contact from clubs as of yet (but I'm) sure that will happen.”

The verdict

Middlesbrough face a pivotal January transfer window.

With a number of players out of contract next summer it's the last chance to offload them for a fee, but for Jonathan Woodgate it's not as simple as that.

The seven players who are entering the last six months of their deals are among the most influential players at the club, meaning that Middlesbrough could be painfully short of experience if too many are allowed to leave.