Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BORO’S BEN BELONGS IN TOP FLIGHT
BEN GIBSON says he belongs in the Premier League and has felt comfortable this season. The defender says he has made no decision on whether to quit Middlesbrough in the summer. But his uncle, club chairman Steve Gibson, wants him to stay and help the side smash the Championship. Boro’s prize asset, who has had an England call up, says he will go away and reflect before deciding on his future. Chelsea and Liverpool have watched him, and there is a scramble for young centre-back talent this summer including Burnley’s Michael Keane and Hull’s Harry Maguire, who only has a year left on his deal. Ahead of the trip to Liverpool tomorrow, Gibson, 24, said: “I’ve felt comfortable at this level and I feel like I belong here. “I would say that every player in the world wants to play in the Premier League and at the highest level, and I’m no different to that. “No decisions have been made over my future and that’s all I can say at this point.” Boss Steve Agnew, who is likely to make way for a new manager in the next fortnight, says Gibson (right) is in demand. He said: “He’s young, he’s English and a left-sided defender – how many of them are there in the Premier League or the top end of the Championship? I can’t think of too many. That’s one of the reasons and Ben, who I’ve known for a number of years, is a leader. “He’s had a terrific season in the Premier League. “He just has all the attributes to go on and eventually cement himself into the England squad.”