Star midfielder Tav a wanted man - but he is going nowhere
CHERRIES AND FOREST BID FOR MARCUS
MARCUS Tavernier is believed to be the subject of two Premier League bids this summer.
It is claimed Middlesbrough have rejected £10 million offers for their star midfielder from Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest as they look to bolster their squads ahead of their first seasons back in the top flight.
Boro rejecting the supposed offers comes as no surprise because boss Chris Wilder has already made both his own and the club’s stances clear with regards to the 23-year-old academy graduate.
The midfielder was a key component to Boro’s climb up the Championship table under Wilder last term, starting in all but one the manager’s games in charge - the one he didn’t being the FA Cup win at Mansfield after he had not long recovered from Covid.
Tavernier remains an important part of Wilder’s team, the Boro boss planning for life with him at the club for the upcoming season.
Boro are not in a financial position where they would have to sell, as they will soon receive a big fee from the sale of Djed Spence.
With two years left on his contract too, the club aren’t under pressure in that sense to move Tavernier on either.
That being said, every player does have a price but both Forest and
Bournemouth would have to up their offers to get permission from Boro to talk to the player.
Wilder made the club’s stance clear at the start of the summer, saying: “Any football club can lose someone. Look at Liverpool who’ve just lost Saido Mane.
“They were in the Champions
League final, they recently won the Premier League, yet they lose arguably their best player.
“We’re all susceptible to it but it has to be for the right price, as always.
“I’m not expecting any other senior departures apart from Djed. What I would say though is t if something ridiculous did happen, then would Steve Gibson reinvest the money? Yeah, he would.
“The names that always get bandied around are Djed, Tav and Dael Fry - if all of a sudden we got a £60m bid would Steve look at it? Yeah, he would.
“He would also then be adjudging
what players we were able to go for ourselves. We’d be able to go for different targets because he would want to reinvest.”
Clearly, it would take a big offer to prize the former England youth international away from Teesside - a club the player has a strong affinity for and appreciation to after giving him his break in football after his release from Newcastle United as a teenager.
Tavernier has made no secret of his love for the club.
While more and more fans have started to see his importance to the team, particularly since Wilder’s arrival where he has been one of the top performers, there are still some fans who are not as appreciative.
Wilder has spoken of some shock departures this summer and some have speculated whether Tavernier might have been one.
However, in the same interview post-Preston the Boro boss named players he wanted to keep at the club while noting he had told all of them he needed more from them.
Tavernier was one such player he named as wanting to keep and build his new squad around.
It speaks volumes of how highly he rates the midfielder.
The Boro boss has made that clear in the past, while noting where he wants him to improve.
He said of Tavernier last season: “He’s a talented boy and he has all the attributes to play at the top level without a shadow of a doubt.
“He’s a little bit more experienced and ahead of a lot of our other younger players at this stage of his career.
“Tav, for me, even looking from a distance, is a talent and there is still a lot more to come from him as well.
“He’s been great and all the midfield three have been fabulous.
“I have to say, though, I don’t think Tav really has needed that competition.
“I think his standards have been great. We all talk about, and I still talk to him all the time about, getting into the box from the other side.
“His energy levels are great, he takes a lot more care with the ball now, he protects the ball well and plays the defensive shape really well too.
“He has a sweet left foot too. Now, to take him to the next level is contributing assists and goals with the other bits and pieces.
“We believe he can do that and hopefully he will.”