CROATIA international Niko Kranjcar has been linked with a £2.5m move to Middlesbrough.

Reports coming from the Croatian media say talks between the Teessiders and Kranjcar's club, Dynamo Zagreb, are imminent.

The 20-year-old midfielder has been the subject of speculation linking him with Barcelona and Juventus, and any move during the January transfer window would be seen as something of a coup for Steve McClaren.

The £2.5m price-tag is an initial fee which could rise to around £3.5m depending on appearances.

It is not clear whether the move comes as the result of Boro's Spanish international Gaizka Mendieta being ruled out for the season with cruciate ligament damage, or whether the player has been watched for some time.

Kranjcar, pronounced Cruncher, has played four times for Croatia this year, featuring against Bulgaria, Sweden, Hungary and Israel.

Boro's last transfer venture involving a Croat was when Bryan Robson brought Alen Boksic to Teesside. Robson paid £2.5m for the player who was top scorer in his first two seasons as the Boro sought to avoid relegation from the top flight.

However, Boksic became more and more of a liability with his appearances sporadic and he was released early last year as injuries took their toll - with Boro keen to get his reported £60,000 a week wages off the club bill.

* Jermaine Defoe ended his goal famine last night by scoring twice to steer Tottenham into the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

The 4-3 victory in extra time gave the club revenge for the defeat by Bolton in the league only last Saturday. Tottenham had to dig deep as they twice came from behind against last season's beaten finalists.

Spurs took the lead for the first time on the night in the 95th minute after sub Michael Brown headed home. Defoe put Tottenham 4-2 up with his second goal of the game after 103 minutes before Ferdinand pulled one back.

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