Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate admits Aston Villa beat them for former Newcastle winger James Milner.

"We liked him, James is a very good player," said Southgate.

"There was a spell when he nearly joined Villa before and we had an interest and I don't think we could afford to do it at the time. Newcastle had taken him back and we certainly couldn't have afforded to do it this summer at that sort of price.

"The fee didn't surprise me though, Villa gave us £6m for a full-back (Luke Young). If you have the money and you want the player enough, the fee is fairly irrelevant. It's about getting the players you want."