FORGOTTEN man Alan Moore was last night told by Terry Venables that he still has a future at Middlesbrough.

The injury-scarred Republic of Ireland international, who hasn't appeared in the first team for nearly two years, is pushing his comeback claims after hitting goalscoring form with Boro Reserves.

Moore grabbed a hat-trick in a 4-1 second-string victory against Leeds United over two weeks ago.

Hailed as a major discovery - and at the time compared to Manchester United's Ryan Giggs - Moore made his full debut under former Boro boss Lennie Lawrence at the beginning of season 1993-94.

Four goals in his first three starts marked him down as a player of huge potential, but recurrent injuries, notably serious calf problems, took their toll.

Boro head coach Venables, however, has been impressed with the 26-year-old Dubliner, who has always been highly rated by manager Bryan Robson.

Venables said: "I think Alan Moore has an exceptional talent.

"He's a very good player and he's been very unlucky with injuries. He had a long period out and he's still only played a few games since then.

"Bryan has always spoken highly of him and it's been frustrating for the player and for the club because he's been out for around two years.

"But if you've got his sort of talent you must have spent a lot of time practising, which means he must love the game.

"Anyone here is going to come into my thoughts. I take a lot of notice of what people are doing in training, not just what happens in games.

"The coaching staff now have meetings every day to talk about the boys in training. Someone could come through out of the blue.

"If someone is doing something I particularly like, I would be prepared to have a look at them, whether it's Alan or anybody.''

Home-town boy Anthony Ormerod is another wide player whose Boro career hit the buffers through injury.

But the 21-year-old former England Youth international is now back on track after almost a year out with ankle trouble, and Venables added: "He comes into the same category as Alan Moore.''

Meanwhile, Boro boss Robson has cheekily told Arsenal they would have to pay £50m to land goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

The Gunners, seeking a long-term replacement for David Seaman, watched Australian international Schwarzer keep his sixth clean sheet in eight games in the draw at Liverpool a week ago.

Boro signed the giant Schwarzer from Bradford City for £1.5m nearly four years ago, and Robson said: "I'm not surprised to hear other clubs are interested - that's why we gave Mark a seven-year contract.

"We know how good he is and we've had this before from Manchester United. He's not for sale and it's as simple as that.

"If Arsenal offered something like £50m we'd have to think about it because that can buy you a lot of very good players!

"Mark showed his quality against Liverpool. Before that game, the team had defended very well and Mark hadn't had really hard saves to make.

"But at Anfield he had two one-on-ones with Michael Owen and pulled off great saves.''

l Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf's proposed move to Monaco could hold the key to the future of Boro centre-back Gianluca Festa.

Blues' boss Claudio Ranieri, who had Festa under his wing at Cagliari, continues to be linked with the transfer-listed Sardinian, who joined Boro from Inter Milan for £2.7m four seasons ago.

Festa is currently undergoing treatment for a thigh injury in a bid to be fit for Boro's game at Everton on Wednesday