All Change At Middlesbrough

By Betting Zone
January 24 2007

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was today on the verge of making significant changes to his squad as he prepared to off-load the club's last two record signings.

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Defender Ugo Ehiogu, an £8million acquisition from Aston Villa, was training with Rangers as the last remaining details of his move to Glasgow were thrashed out.

At the same time, Massimo Maccarone's agent revealed that he expects the £8.15million striker to join Italian side Siena, where he spent a successful loan spell in 2004-05, early next week.

With Fabio Rochemback the subject of interest from Sporting Lisbon, Southgate is close to whittling down both the size of his squad and the wage bill as he prepares for his own limited recruitment drive.

South Korean striker Lee Dong-Gook has agreed to join the Teessiders subject to winning a work permit.

Boro will submit their application next week knowing it will automatically be rejected because the Pohang Steelers striker has not played 75 per cent of his country's international games over the last two years.

They will appeal, as they have done successfully in the past with Alen Boksic and Juninho, on the grounds that but for injuries he would have fulfilled that criterion.

In addition, the club's pursuit of West Brom's £3.5million-rated midfielder Zoltan Gera is ongoing with keeper Brad Jones, who has been touted as a possible make-weight in the deal, said to be considering offers from a series of suitors despite having a two-year deal at the Riverside Stadium on the table.

Southgate has always professed himself happy with his squad, although he is maintaining an interest in Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere.

It would be no surprise if there were more departures than arrivals during the remaining eight days of the transfer window with Ehiogu's stay, which began in October 2000, set to end imminently.

Maccarone could follow him having failed to make an impression under Southgate despite his UEFA Cup heroics last season.

The 27-year-old Italian international, who won his move from Empoli to the Barclays Premiership during the summer of 2002 after his double dumped England out of the European Under-21 Championships, has been linked with Siena, Torino and Napoli for some time.

Boro were not commenting on his position today but privately there were no denials of agent Paolo Fabbri's claims that he could return to Italy within days.

Fabbri told PA Sport: "I have just returned from Middlesbrough. We have undergone negotiations for the player's free transfer to Siena.

"We are awaiting the okay from the Middlesbrough chairman (Steve Gibson) for the deal to be completed, and that should arrive on Monday.

"There is an agreement with Siena and Maccarone could sign a three to four-year contract with them."

Where Ehiogu made 152 appearances and scored eight goals for the club, Maccarone has managed just 102, 47 of them as a substitute, and found the back of the net on 24 occasions.

Meanwhile, Southgate has appointed former Barnsley, Blackburn, Leicester, Sunderland and York midfielder Steve Agnew as his new reserve team coach.

Agnew, 41, who started his coaching career with Boro's academy, replaces Colin Cooper following his elevation to the first-team staff in the wake of Steve Round's departure.

He said: "It's great to be back at Boro, where I first started my coaching career. I am really looking forward to working with Gareth Southgate and all the lads.

"Everyone has made me feel at home and I can't wait to get started."

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By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.