Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock has suggested he is hopeful of securing new contracts for more of his current squad in the coming weeks and months.
Midfielder Jonny Howson put pen to paper a new deal until the summer of 2022 earlier this week, while defender Anfernee Dijksteel recently signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract at the Riverside Stadium.
There are still several members of the club's current squad whose deals are set to expire at the end of the season, including attacking duo Britt Assombalonga and Ashley Fletcher, and Warnock believes the club must move quickly to secure the longer term services of those players.
Speaking to the Hartlepool Mail about the need to secure more players to extended contracts on Teesside, Warnock said: "I’ve said to Steve (Gibson, club chairman) and Neil Bausor, chief executive) behind the scenes that we have to start putting things in place whoever the manager is.
“We have to look at the players we want to tie up sooner rather than later and that’s why we are pleased that Jonny has signed. I think you have to plan. I think at clubs I’ve been at in the past there has been a lot of stupidity at times."
Discussing some of his past experiences with regards to player contract negotiations, and the importance of getting deals done,
Warnock went on to add:
“Chairman tell me ‘why do we need to give him a new contract? he has two more years’ ,without understanding that he needed a new contract as a lift, whether it’s a few extra quid. That’s not the case with Jonny.
"I think Jonny just wants to play for the club but you have to look further ahead and the players you think you are going to get success with.”
Middlesbrough are currently eighth in the Championship table, having seen a ten game unbeaten run brought to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Norwich at the weekend.
The Verdict
It is good to see that Warnock is looking to persuade Middlesbrough's hierarchy to get more of these deals done.
There are several players at the club coming to the end of their contracts who still have plenty to offer, so it would make sense to secure their services at the Riverside Stadium.
Given the way they are playing at the minute, you imagine plenty of 'Boro's players will be keen to put pen to paper on new deals at the club, and it is good to see Warnock's desire to help strengthen the club regardless of whether it is him or someone else in the managerial hotseat at the Riverside.
