Steve Gibson says Middlesbrough will not stand in Stewart Downing’s way if he wants to move, but they will only let him join a club they deem suitable.
Downing’s future is likely to be a hot topic of debate following Boro’s relegation to The Championship.
The winger failed with a bid to leave the club in January, as manager Gareth Southgate and chairman Gibson persuaded him to aid Boro’s battle to avoid the drop.
Boro’s bid ended in failure and Gibson is now ready to allow Downing to head for pastures new – provided it is for a team he feels can match the winger’s ambitions.
”We had an unspoken agreement that if the right club came in, and I believe Stewart is a top-four club player, we wouldn’t stand in his way,” Gibson told The Daily Star. “It’s a short career.
”There comes a point where a player must sit down and, without emotion, make a decision about his career.
”He has five or six years left at the top. Can I offer him European football? No. Does he deserve European football? Yes.”
Downing has been linked with moves to Tottenham and Liverpool in the past, but he faces a battle to prove his fitness before the transfer window closes after undergoing surgery on his foot.