Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb, writing in his programme notes for Saturday's game with derby rivals Sunderland, Lamb said: "My view is that the January transfer window is not in the best interests of football, a belief that I know is shared by (manager) Gareth (Southgate). "We would both prefer that is wasn't part of the game.

"The window unsettles otherwise happy players, puts undue pressure on chairmen, managers and chief executives and raises unrealistic expectancy among supporters.

"As far as I can see, the only beneficiaries are the media, who spend hour after hour, day after day writing and talking about pure speculation that rarely amounts to anything, and agents, who see January as an opportunity to move their clients and make their money."