Wilder: I hope we can hang on to Tav
CHRIS Wilder is still hopeful he will keep Marcus Tavernier at Middlesbrough this summer, amid offers from Premier League clubs.
Boro are understood to have turned down bids from Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for the midfielder.
Wilder has made no secret of his desire to get Boro back to the Premier League, while Tavernier naturally harbours those ambitions to play in the top flight too.
While the chance to move to a topflight club would likely prove an attractive prospect to the 22-yearold, he is also not expected to cause a fuss to get the move either.
Boro are keen to keep the midfielder this summer, with Wilder seeing him as one of his most important players. However, he also understands that, should either of the two newly-promoted sides up their initial offers, believed to be around £10 million, then Boro would have to strongly consider it.
Until such a time that happens though, Tavernier remains a Boro player and is contracted for another two years in which time Wilder hopes to take Boro to the top division.
And the Boro boss says you only have to take his performance against Morecambe, where he scored Boro’s opening goal in a 3-0 win, to know where his head is at in terms of his commitment.
Wilder said: “I don’t want to lose arguably one of our top players but I understand other bits about the game and the attraction of the Premier League.
“As you have seen tonight, Tav has taken it in his stride. I thought his performance and his goal was excellent, he’s a major player for us.
“I don’t know what is around the corner but he’s a good player, but obviously, I want him to be a good player in a red shirt.
“He understands my philosophy and mentality. I think all of the players understand my philosophy and where I come from and how I want it to look. What demands I put on my players and he is one of them who had an outstanding season last year.
“He’s come back and hit the ground running, his attitude is great and he is a proper player. He is a player that just gets on with it and I’m delighted that he is with us.”