Championship outfit Middlesbrough have no preference where wing-back Djed Spence ends up this summer as long as their financial demands are met, according to an update from the Northern Echo.

The 21-year-old looks likely to leave the Riverside Stadium this summer with Isaiah Jones establishing himself as an accomplished option on the right-hand side for the Teesside outfit during the 2021/22 campaign.

With this and Spence attracting interest from top-tier clubs across Europe, Boro are likely to receive a considerable cash boost from the England youth international's sale with Chris Wilder's side having a considerable amount of power at the negotiating table in the coming months.

They have the ability to ask for a sizeable eight-figure fee because of the fact the right wing-back signed a new deal before going out on loan to Nottingham Forest last summer, extending his stay at the Riverside until 2024.

According to this same report from the Northern Echo, Tottenham Hotspur are currently leading the race for his signature with the two clubs already in advanced talks to secure the Englishman's services.

However, Forest are also thought to be in the race to sign the 21-year-old permanently after seeing him thrive at the City Ground during the 2021/22 campaign as one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Although Boro and the Reds came to an agreement in January that saw Spence remain in the East Midlands for the remainder of the season, potentially striking up a good relationship in the process, the former have no preference regarding where the right-sided player goes during this upcoming summer window.

The Verdict:

Although Boro's relationship with Forest will have become stronger with that January agreement, the former need to be selfish in this situation to give themselves the best chance of striking a deal that suits them.

Not only will they want to negotiate the best price - but they may also want to get an agreement over the line as quickly as possible to give manager Wilder a considerable amount of money to spend early on this summer.

This will be important because they may not be able to bring in some of their top targets in the coming weeks if they don't receive the revenue from this potential sale early on - and that could enable other sides to take potential new additions from under the Teesside outfit's nose.

Some would argue a move to Tottenham could be better for Boro because of the fact they are less likely to play Spurs and Spence (if he joins Antonio Conte's side) regularly than Forest, who are a recently-promoted side and will be favourites to go back down if they don't strengthen enough.

On the other hand, they could benefit more from inserting a sell-on clause into an agreement with Forest considering he could go on to secure another big-money move from the City Ground if he continues to be a success in the Midlands and the Reds either remain in the bottom half of the top-tier table or are relegated.