This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Regular Punter’ series, where we gather original opinions from select, passionate fans of the clubs concerned on matters surrounding their team and share them with a wider audience…

Football League World’s Middlesbrough fan pundit Phil Wrightson has suggested the club should not sell teenage defender Nathan Wood amidst reported Premier League interest.

According to The Sun, a list of top-flight clubs, including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley, and Everton, are interested in the 17-year-old.

The report claims that Burnley, who made a failed move for Wood in the summer, are expected to make a renewed offer in January.

Wrightson has suggested that it would be in Boro’s best interest to ensure he does not leave.

He explained: “Boro have a paper-thin squad at the moment and we are not in a position to be selling Wood, who has been named on the sub bench as our only centre-half cover for the last few games.

“We haven’t seen a lot from him apart from the odd cup appearance but Jonathan Woodgate has publicly stated how highly he rates Wood, and that is evidenced by the fact that he was one of the youngsters Woodgate refused to let go out on loan this season.

“Boro have a history of local lads coming through our youth system to play as centre-halves for the club (Tony Mowbray, Gary Pallister, David Wheater, Ben Gibson, and Dael Fry) and Wood fits the bill to be next in line.”

Burnley are reportedly set to offer Boro £9 million for the teenager but Wrightson has suggested the club should resist the temptation of cashing in.

He said: “Although £9 million is a huge amount for a player yet to break his way into the first-team we need to look at the bigger picture; there is no evidence that the fee would be re-invested given our recent frugal spending but neither do we appear desperate for money, if Tony Pulis’ incessant claims that he put the club in a stable financial position are to be believed.

“Therefore, given our lack of cover, it makes sense to hold onto one of our youth prospects, especially if he is talented enough for top four sides to be looking at.”

Under Woodgate, Boro have made a shaky start to the season and are currently 18th in the Championship.