Boro Mania

In light of our current plight and the very real threat that we may be playing Championship football next season some websites have wasted no time in publishing transfer rumours linking Boro players away from the Riverside.

Afonso Alves has recently been linked with a move to Lisbon but Portuguese giants Benfica have moved quickly to quash any talk of the mis-firing Brazilian moving to the Estadio Da Luz.

In the face of persistent reports throughout the week, Benfica would like to clarify that it never asked about Afonso Alves.

Therefore, Benfica expects the focus of recent reports to end.

There are also reports linking Everton and Blackburn with young defender Matthew Bates. Bates has been filling in for the injured Didier Digard in a holding midfield role recently, but is more often used as a full back or centre back. The former FA Youth Cup winner is coming to the end of his contract and is yet to agree a new one with the club. I rate Bates very highly, he lost a lot of time with bad injuries, but I really believe he has a good future at the club.

Stewart Downing is constantly linked with moves away from the club with the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and even Italian giants Juventus said to be chasing the England winger. David Wheater has recently been linked with a move to Liverpool.

Most of these stories are to be taken with a hint of salt, a lot of the sites these rumours crop up on are not deemed the most reliable by football fans so I wouldn't read too much into them but one thing is for sure, if Boro go down we will lose a number of players and it would be a real shame if some of the young homegrown stars were to jump ship.