Middlesbrough chief Keith Lamb is confident they do not have to break the bank to add to Gareth Southgate's squad in January.

Lamb told the Evening Gazette: "We may not be in the market for established world class players, but I can't see any reason at all why we won't be able to compete.

"Of course it's becoming very difficult, but very difficult for everybody.

"Clubs are no longer looking for multi-millionaires to run them, they are looking for billionaires.

"But we are very fortunate in that we are a stable club and we are well aware of the fantastic talent which is still coming through in the North-east.

"We also have some top people at the football club who are travelling around Europe to identify the top players who are pushing through.

"We are not Manchester United, who are under pressure to win the Champions League, and can not put a 17 or 18-year-old in their side.

"We can bring good young players through. We have done that in the past, we are doing it now and we will continue to do so.

"We hope that we are developing a model which will prove to be successful."