We asked the Three Legends, if you were Adam Johnson’s advisor would you tell him to:

a) move to Sunderland,

b) move to Manchester City or,

c) see out his contract at Middlesbrough?

MALCOLM MACDONALD

THE glamour move is Manchester City, there is no doubt about that. But is it the best move from a footballing point of view?

Man City can make him the best financial offer and that is always going to be influential.

I wouldn’t blame him one bit if he jumped at the chance to join City and ensure that he never has to work again. But my advice to him would be sit tight.

If you believe in your own talent then you must be confident that if you are a good player now then you will still be a good player at the end of the season. If he carries on scoring goals and playing well for Boro then even more clubs will be queuing up for him in the summer. I would wait until then and assess my options.

It may be that he still ends up going to Man City, or Chelsea could come in for him. He is one of the hottest young English properties in the game and there is sure to be a bidding war for him if he bides his time.

There are benefits of going to Sunderland. He would be guaranteed a firstteam place, which is a major consideration. But Sunderland are in free-fall and I wouldn’t advise him to move to a club whose Premier League position is under threat.

My advice is sit tight for the season at Boro and the world could be your oyster.

BERNIE SLAVEN

I AM not just saying this as a fan of the Boro but I would tell Adam to stay where you are and don’t feel rushed into making a decision now that you could regret.

No disrespect to Sunderland, but if it was a toss up between them and Man City then there is no choice.

City are the richest club in the world and he could set himself up for life if he went there. He would have a chance to compete for trophies and the way they are going I can see them challenging for the Premier League next season, they could even be in the shakeup this year. It’s an exciting time for them and any player would be interested in becoming part of that.

But, let’s face it, at Man City he would be fighting for a place and the last thing he wants to do is to be a well-paid reserve.

With the options that Roberto Mancini has at his disposal he can afford to drop anyone and Adam would be under pressure to make an immediate impact or find himself slipping down the pecking order.

The gamble with staying at Boro until his contract runs out is that he could pick up an injury. That would be the only reason that might make him wary of waiting. It is a risk but he seems to be enjoying life at Middlesbrough, his family are close to him and that counts for a lot.

My advice, stay at Boro and don’t be in a rush this month.

MICKY HORSWILL

I WOULD love to see him come to Sunderland. He is just the type of player we need right now.

Sunderland have gone off the boil and they need someone who can bring their season to life. I reckon Adam would be just that type of player.

He can make and score goals. That is a rare combination, so there’s no surprise to see him being courted by some of the biggest clubs in the country.

If Manchester City went all out for him then no-one in the world could compete with them: not Manchester United, not Real Madrid – no club.

But I think City would regard him as a squad player and at his age Adam needs a regular first-team slot. If he came to Sunderland he could become an immediate hero. His family are Sunderland supporters and that must be a factor.

My advice, give Sunderland a go, you could be a real hero.