MIDDLESBROUGH boss Steve McClaren is closing in on Leicester midfielder Muzzy Izzet and Derby striker Malcolm Christie.

McClaren is looking to make an early start to his summer spending spree by splashing out around £15m on Izzet, Christie and on-loan duo Benito Carbone and Franck Queudrue, before heading off to the World Cup with England.

Izzet and Christie, both valued at £6m, are long-standing targets, while Italian playmaker Carbone and French defender Queudrue have been major successes since their arrivals from Bradford and Lens.

With Leicester relegated from the Premiership and Derby looking doomed to the drop, McClaren is making his move for Izzet and Christie.

The Boro manager is also close to agreeing new deals with out-of-contract midfield pair Paul Ince and Robbie Mustoe.

Boro expect to wrap up a deal soon for Queudrue, but discussions over crowd favourite Carbone are only at an initial stage.

England coach McClaren, whose World Cup duties could take him away from Teesside until early July, is anxious to make progress on the transfer front.

He said: "You have to plan for the future and the earlier you plan, the better.''

But he insists his involvement with England in the Far East will bring added kudos to Boro and could draw more world stars to the Riverside.

"You can suddenly find that players become available during the World Cup or immediately afterwards,'' said McClaren.

"Just being out there and involved in such a big tournament is an advantage for Middlesbrough.

"People questioned my involvement with England when I came here.

"But it's like the club getting to the FA Cup semi-final or hopefully finishing in the top ten in the Premiership.

"It raises the profile of the club and it's an advantage in attracting players.

"I think we're a more attractive proposition than we were. We're getting a better press than we were when we lost our first four games this season and four around Christmas.

"It all makes it easier to attract the players you want. I'm very pleased with the players I have here, the squad is really developing. We've off-loaded a good few players, but the rest have come together well.

"I think the Cup run has brought us all closer together and cemented the spirit in the dressing room.

"But you can't stand still. Everybody is looking to improve their squad this summer and we're no different.''

Despite the disappointment of Sunday's agonising semi-final defeat by Arsenal at Old Trafford, McClaren insists there will be no let-up from his players as they attempt to achieve the club's highest Premiership placing. Boro are ninth and need to better that to create their own piece of history.

"We want to make sure that last weekend isn't our last memory of this season,'' said McClaren.

"With the way we played, it was a proud day, but as the week has gone on, the more disappointed I've become. The fact it was a close run thing made it harder to accept.

"We played well, the players were magnificent, but we did lose.

"Now we have four games to go and we need to better ninth position. There's no reason why all the hard work should go to waste.''

Boro today host relegation-threatened Blackburn, managed by former Ayresome Park star Graeme Souness, with McClaren emphasising: "They're fighting for points - but so are we.

"This is a big test for us to see what the reaction is from the players after defeat in a big game.''

McClaren is hoping striker Alen Boksic shakes off the nagging groin injury which forced him to withdraw from Croatia's midweek game with Bosnia.

Skipper Ince and Carbone are available again after being suspended and cup-tied against Arsenal.

And McClaren confirmed that the hamstring injury which cut short centre-back Ugo Ehiogu's game at Old Trafford is "not as bad as first feared''.

McClaren said: "We're hoping he'll be back for the home game against Chelsea next Saturday, if not for the match at Ipswich on Wednesday.''

Midfielder Jonathan Greening, ruled out of the semi-final with a calf strain, also has a chance of being in contention for the trip to Portman Road, along with striker Szilard Nemeth, who hasn't figured for over a month since sustaining an ankle injury while on international duty with Slovakia.

Even striker Noel Whelan, who suffered a hamstring injury in the home win over Aston Villa a fortnight ago, stands a chance of being back in time for the final game of the season at Leeds in three weeks' time.

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