TONY Mowbray has repeated his assertion that Middlesbrough do not have to sell their leading assets this summer.

At the end of last season, Steve Gibson outlined a desire to more than halve the club’s wage bill, but with pre-season training having resumed on Thursday, free agents Willo Flood, Andrew Taylor and Julio Arca are the only players to have left.

Taylor will join Cardiff City on Monday, while Arca is not expected to accept Boro’s offer of a new deal on severely-reduced terms.

The departures will save some money, but further exits are necessary if the wage bill is to come down to anything approaching the £6m target that was set at the start of the close season.

A number of high-earning players, such as Kris Boyd, Scott McDonald, Leroy Lita and Stephen McManus, are available for sale.

But even if they do not leave, Mowbray will not be selling the likes of Jason Steele, Joe Bennett and Rhys Williams, who are all expected to play prominent roles in next season’s first-choice XI.

“People misread our financial situation,” said Mowbray, who will take his players to a pre-season training camp in Slovenia in 11 days time.

“It’s important that people know where we are but we are not a club that needs to sell desperately. We do have to restructure and rebuild the club. But we do not have to sell our best players.”

Taylor, who officially became a free agent yesterday, spoke to Boro officials on Wednesday evening, but opted to sever his ties after more than a decade on the Teesside club’s books.

He will travel to south Wales over the weekend and is expected to sign for Cardiff on Monday, a move that will see him reunited with Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay, who worked with him during a loan spell at Watford last season.

“People are going to think it’s because of money that I signed for Cardiff, but it’s not,” said Taylor, who made 145 senior appearances for the Teessiders. “Another club (believed to be Bristol City) offered me better money.

“I chose Cardiff because of the manager and because I believed this was the best move for my football.

“It’s never been about money. Not many people know that I took a pay cut to go and play at Watford last season.

“I’ve been at Middlesbrough for many years and it’s probably the right time to move on. It’s the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life.

“It’s an upsetting thing to leave my home club. I’ve been here since I was nine. But I feel this is the time to move on and look to progress my career.

“I worked for Malky at Watford and really enjoyed my time there. I’m looking forward to playing for him again.”

n Middlesbrough will entertain Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in their final pre-season game on Friday, July 29.

The kick-off time for the game at the Riverside is still to be confirmed, and ticket prices will be released early next week.