Middlesbrough head coach Jonathan Woodgate is determined to hold onto his club’s ‘most valuable player’ Dael Fry after turning down an £8m bid from Burnley.
Boro don’t want to sell the 21-year-old they value at more than the £15m the Clarets paid for Ben Gibson last summer, bearing in mind Adam Webster has just joined Brighton from Bristol City for £20m.
And, at a press conference today, Woodgate said ahead of Thursday’s 5 p.m. transfer deadline: “I don’t want Dael Fry to leave the football club, it’s as simple as that..
"It’s a really simple message.
“What was the bid? £8m or something like that? What did (Adam) Webster just go for at Bristol City? I think that answers the question.
"Dael Fry is a special player for me – I’d say he’s the most valuable player at the football club, worth the most money. In the future, I see him being a full England international."
Asked whether the speculation will get to Fry, Woodgate shrugged: “Dael? Dael Fry? He's from Berwick Hills. He's a proper Boro lad.
"He won't get excited about that. He wants to play for Middlesbrough. He's a great lad, a great lad."
