MIDDLESBROUGH'S chase for Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has cooled Steve McClaren's interest in young Ghana star Derrick Boateng.

Boateng is one of the hottest properties in African football and has made a big name for himself with Greek side Panathinaikos.

But McClaren, who is looking to off-load at least one of the six forwards already at his disposal, has switched his attentions to bringing in available Black Cats' hot-shot Phillips.

The Boro boss is understood to have had Boateng on trial but now, according to the player's agent, the 20-year-old has returned to Greece with a view to moving to France this summer.

Fabien Piveteau, who looks after the Ghanaian international said: "He did not get an offer from Middlesbrough.

"I don't think they thought he was what they needed. He is now back in Greece, but could end up on trial elsewhere maybe France."

McClaren already has Massimo Maccarone, Malcolm Christie, Michael Ricketts, Szilard Nemeth, Jospeh-Desire Job and Noel Whelan vying for two places in attack.

The former Manchester United No 2 insists he wants Maccarone to stay on and both Christie and Ricketts only arrived in January, so the manager will not be looking to sell either.

Whelan is the most likely to depart after he spent a spell on loan at Crystal Palace towards the end of last season.

Meanwhile, the Riverside chief has warned other clubs that he is prepared to be patient in his bid to attract new players to Teesside.

And McClaren has hinted that he will wait until the last minute to broker deals if it means securing a loan signing, which proved successful at the start of the last campaign when Geremi arrived from Real Madrid.

"Last summer, I was on holiday in July, having just got back from the World Cup with England," said the former national team coach.

"Then, out of the blue, I got a call from Real Madrid wanting to know if I would take Geremi on loan for a season.

"It was a fantastic opportunity that I could hardly believe. If we're patient, that sort of deal might come up again."

Australian midfielder Josip Skoko was last night linked with a move to Boro.

The 27-year-old Genk man is also believed to be attracting interest from Leeds, Aston Villa, Leicester and Southampton.

* Boro defender Stuart Parnaby has been called up for two England Under-21 internationals.

The 20-year-old from Durham will be part of David Platt's 24-man squad that faces Serbia and Montenegro (June 2) at Hull and then the European Championships qualifier with Slovakian (June 10) at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.