Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate cannot rule out a big sale in January.

"I have to be realistic - there will be interest in some of our players, there might be an offer for a player that we find impossible to turn down, as we did with Luke Young in the summer, as Portsmouth have done this week, seemingly, with Lassana Diarra," Southgate said.

"Everybody is realistic about those things, but our preference is to keep what we have got and if all our players are as good as is being purported by the fees which are being quoted, then we should have a good team by the end of the season."