Cats monitor Boro star – and may swoop again in January
Sunderland will keep tabs on Middlesbrough midfielder Grant Leadbitter ahead of the January transfer window.
Sunderland’s interest in the Boro midfielder this summer was well known but it has since emerged that Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County had pre-deadline day moves knocked back by Boro.
Middlesbrough chiefs were determined to keep hold of the former Sunderland midfielder though all three clubs are set to keep tabs on Leadbitter’s situation ahead of the next transfer window.
The club captain has a year remaining on his current deal but could yet force his way back into manager Garry Monk’s plans.
Any hopes of Sunderland landing Leadbitter this summer were dashed by Monk towards the end of August after he insisted that nobody else would be leaving the Riverside, which is how it turned out.
Leadbitter started his career at Sunderland as a trainee and made 123 appearances before leaving for Ipswich Town in the summer of 2009.
After three years at Ipswich, Leadbitter moved back to the North East, joining Boro on a free transfer five years ago and has since gone on to make more than 170 appearances for the Teessiders.
Meanwhile, Monk could be set to make Stewart Downing a key part of his Championship squad. Downing had been told he was free to find another club during the summer but despite interest from Birmingham City, a move never materialised.