UGO EHIOGU'S proposed move to West Bromwich Albion hung in the balance last night after Middlesbrough tried to pull the plug on the deal at the 11th hour.

The Boro centre-back was in the black country yesterday putting the final touches to the free transfer and had passed a medical when the late intervention came.

Manager Steve McClaren has had second thoughts about the switch ahead of Saturday's trip to Arsenal because his defensive options have been stretched.

The suspension of left-back Emanuel Pogatetz, who picked up his fifth booking at Nuneaton Borough at the weekend, means McClaren will have to reshuffle his pack at Highbury.

And Chris Riggott, the centre-back handed Ehiogu's place in recent months, only returned to training after a dead leg yesterday.

To add to the problems, the youngster likely to replace Pogatetz at Arsenal, Andrew Taylor, picked up an early knock in the reserve game last night and is a doubt himself for the weekend.

Now McClaren wants to reassess his squad before agreeing to Ehiogu's departure to The Hawthorns, where he could be joined by Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink.

Hasselbaink, 33, is out of contract in the summer but is known to prefer a move to either Fulham or back to his native Holland.

McClaren, meanwhile, has been encouraged in his search for a new midfielder after hearing news that Jimmy Bullard has a clause in his contract that could lead to him moving to the Riverside on the cheap.

Boro are in the hunt for the energetic midfielder and it is believed he could leave Wigan Athletic if a bid of around £2.5m is lodged.

Sources close to the player suggest he would be more than willing to talk terms over a move to Teesside and McClaren is busy trying to raise the funds to sanction a deal.

The sale of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to Portsmouth, after Pompey boss Harry Redknapp admitted his interest in the Australian yesterday, would boost his transfer kitty.

However, the departure of Schwarzer would only signal the start of McClaren's search for a replacement between the posts, with Bolton's Jussi Jaaskelainen a leading candidate.

But, with nothing certain over the goalkeeper situation, Boro are working hard on other avenues as the boss is actively seeking a right-back, winger and midfielder.

Bullard fits the latter, while he is also more than capable of playing out wide and, if the 26-year-old indicates he wants to join Boro, then a deal could be brokered with relative ease.

Wigan are in desperate need of a striker, following Henri Camara's decision to play with Senegal in the African Nations Cup, and are known to be keen on Szilard Nemeth - who is also attracting interest from Birmingham and Charlton.

Fulham's capture of Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi yesterday ended Portsmouth's hopes of landing the Finn.

And it is for that reason Redknapp has switched his attention to Boro's transfer-listed goalkeeper Schwarzer, who could cost as much as £3m.

The 33-year-old, who would like to remain in his North Yorkshire home or uproot to Spain, is now awaiting further developments.

And Redknapp said: "There is an interest there. I like him. He is a top keeper, no doubt about it, and for sure we are certainly interested.

"Whether we could do a deal and afford him remains to be seen. But there is nothing concrete on that at the moment."

The arrival of Portsmouth's new co-owner Alexandre Gaydamak has increased Redknapp's spending power but nearly £5m has been spent on Benjani Mwaruwari and Emmanuel Olisadebe.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.