TONY MOWBRAY has issued a warning to clubs looking to buy Middlesbrough’s players on the cheap after Swansea City made a cheeky offer for Leroy Lita.
The Swans are believed to have bid in the region of £500,000 for the striker and they are also showing an interest in Dutchman Marvin Emnes.
Mowbray confirmed the Swans have been in touch, but he does not think there have been any offers that can be considered “serious” for any members of his squad so far.
The Boro boss admits there has to be a number of outgoings to reduce the wage bill before he can consider bringing in his own signings.
But Mowbray insists Boro are more than happy to head into the new season on August 6 with what they have already, rather than selling players on the cheap.
“They (Swansea) might have been in touch,” said Mowbray. “But there has been no realistic interest in Marvin or Leroy. I have no great interest in selling either of them.
“If clubs come to talk then they will have to be realistic.”
Mowbray is aware of suggestions that Swansea, playing Premier League football next season, are thought to be preparing a £3m offer for Polish goalkeeper Grzegorz Sandomierski, while they recently paid Watford £3.5m for Danny Graham, the ex-Boro forward.
“If Swansea are interested in one of our players then they have to make what I consider to be a serious offer,” said Mowbray.
“We don’t need to do this or that, we will get on with it if it’s the squad we have in August.
“There is no fire sale here. We just have to keep working on it.
“If there are offers coming in then nothing is interesting us so far; they are a long way short of our expectations.”
Two players Mowbray is keen to move on are Didier Digard and Kris Boyd.
The pair ended last season on loan at Nice and Nottingham Forest respectively, but both are due back for the start of pre-season training on Thursday.
Nice are keen to take Digard back on a permanent basis, but there has to be a significant shift in negotiations if the deal is to take place.
The French midfielder’s reputed £30,000-a-week wages, in a contract that still has 12 months to run, are far more than what Nice can offer.
And Mowbray said: “There has been lots of contact (with Nice).
“It has to be right for us though. I have admired him from afar but he falls into that financial issue that we need to remove.
“If we see him, we will get on with him. He is a talented boy.
“He has enjoyed his time in Nice. If he wants to stay in France, will they afford him? They can’t afford him. So does he give up some money? The balance has to be right.”
Boyd also has 12 months remaining on his reputed £28,000-a-week contract at the Riverside, but there has been little progress made in attempts to move him on.
There has been reported interest in the Scotland international from clubs in Turkey and Boro are likely to let him leave on a free.
But Mowbray said: “I have had no concrete calls. There are a lot of agents out there who have a vested interest in Kris Boyd.
“My expectation is that he will be back next Thursday and his job is to get in our team and score goals for Middlesbrough FC.”
Mowbray had no update to report on the futures of Andrew Taylor or Julio Arca. Both players are out of contract on July 1 and are yet to sign new deals on reduced terms.
n Middlesbrough have announced they will play up to thr ee warm-up games against unconfirmed opponents in Slovenia as part of their pre-season schedule.
Boro are due to spend eight days in Slovenia from July 13 before returning to Teesside on July 21, which is two days ahead of their friendly with Darlington at The Northern Echo Arena.
Mowbray has also revealed plans to face a Champions League team at the Riverside the weekend before the Championship season starts on August 6.
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