Bryan Robson will today make a desperate effort to persuade Christian Ziege to honour the four-year contract he signed with Middlesbrough last year.

Robson will plead with the German to turn his back on the chance to play in Europe with big-spending Liverpool next season.

The Boro boss has called a crisis meeting after admitting Ziege is free to start talks with the Anfield club whenever he wants.

Boro confirmed yesterday there is a clause in the contract allowing Ziege to negotiate with any club that offers over £5m - after Robson previously denied it existed.

Liverpool have made a bid of £5.5m and yesterday Boro also confirmed they have received the offer but not yet replied to it.

They now face a real danger of losing the wing-back, signed from AC Milan exactly 12 months ago.

Robson and his assistant, Viv Anderson, have claimed that Ziege insisted to them by telephone he is staying at the Riverside. But the German international himself has remained silent.

"I need to speak to Christian about this," said Robson. "There's nothing much I can say until then.

"I've had no indication he wants to leave. I need to hear what he has to say but these are not showdown talks, they are just a clarification of the position."

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier is confident of having the 28-year-old in the side for the start of the season alongside Euro 2000 teammates Markus Babbel and Didi Hamann.

Robson, though, is hoping his relationship with Ziege will work in Boro's favour.

The left wing-back recaptured his place in the national side after the switch to Boro ended a nightmare two years in Milan, where he was consistently left out.

Ziege has confided to friends that he only signed for Boro because he was desperate to leave Milan and there were no other offers.

Now Robson has the difficult job of convincing him he should stay, and avert another embarrassing foreign affair for the club.

Robson has been on the continent setting up deals for players, with sources in Italy confirming that talks with Lazio striker Alen Boksic are about to start.

Boro have reached agreement with the Italian champions and are now ready to negotiate with the Croatian and his agent.

Robson said: "I'm not naming names yet but I've made progress. I'm very confident we'll have new faces before the kick-off."

He must also decide whether to push through a £3m move for striker Joseph Desire Job and a £2m deal for defender Lilian Martin.