Boro Tav to stand firm on Marcus
IT will be hoped Boro stand firm should Nottingham Forest or Bournemouth harden up their interest in Marcus Tavernier.
Offers of £10m are already said to have been rejected, boss Chris Wilder telling of his hope that Tavernier stays put this summer.
The midfielder will undoubtedly prove to be one of the key players in the club’s push for promotion this season.
Tavernier made dramatic leaps forward under Wilder.
He developed into a potential matchwinner with his committed approach to his game. Another positive for Wilder is that Tavernier is comfortable in a number of roles.
No doubt Marcus is happy in an attacking midfield role and does not want to be considered a utility man but he is a great man to have around should injuries strike.
In any case, with a comparatively thin squad, Wilder cannot consider any more departures. Even with the summer signings which have already been made, the manager is working with a small first-team squad at the moment.
So, with the start of the new campaign rapidly approaching, Wilder needs to be adding to the squad rather than reducing it.
Naturally this refers purely to the players who he wants to keep.
We all hoped Martin Payero would have made a bigger impact on Teesside, Wilder included.
The Spence departure will undoubtedly strengthen Boro’s position in the market.
There is little doubt Neil Bausor in particular will have been working his socks off to try to make progress in negotiations for the men Wilder has targeted.
With Spence off the wage bill, one of the easiest deals of the summer should involve trialist defender Tommy Smith signing a contract.
Yet as far as every fan is concerned the problem area is the attack and no doubt Wilder feels the same.
Josh Coburn led the forward line against Braga and was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet when hitting the woodwork.
This is a very big season for Coburn.
He stepped several rungs up the ladder last season and looks an exciting prospect.
Yet if Wilder gets the frontrunners he is seeking then Coburn may need to step up another couple of rungs if he is to keep himself in contention.
That is fair enough. No doubt Wilder would love to put together a squad in which he has hot competition for every place.
The loan signing of goalkeeper Zack Steffen looks a good move. We cannot doubt his quality. He would not have been handed a four-year contract by Pep Guardiola if he was not considered to be a top keeper.
However, playing regular league football week in week out puts players under pressure, especially goalkeepers, so we must welcome Steffen with open arms and wish him the best of luck as he adapts to his new important role.
The bonus is fellow new boy Liam Roberts has been getting his feet under the table in pre-season. He will be determined to put the pressure on.
Hopefully Boro have finally solved the goalkeeping dilemma which was one of the major problems last season. Now the major task in hand is to nail the signing of two strikers.