Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan accepts he's likely to lose star winger Adam Johnson.

Johnson, a target for Everton, Chelsea and Manchester United, is out-of-contract at the end of the season and has thus far shunned all attempts to make him sign a new deal.

"How can I tempt him? I'm sure Steve (Gibson) and Keith (Lamb), who have known him for a long time, have done their best. I don't think I can do any better," Strachan said. "I'm only doing my job and it's very hard for me to sit down with anyone and have a heart to heart with them. I don't know them that well.

"When you sit down it's vital that you known them and they know you. You can then have a conversation and have knowledge of the person, I know Adam the footballer, but not as a person. We will have to wait and see what happens in January, see where we are, see how we are playing. Circumstances can change in a couple of months, we are not making any promises to anyone.

"I believe Steve and Keith have made numerous attempts to sign Adam up to a new contract with Middlesbrough. I know he is a top player. I have only known Adam two weeks and as a manager it's very hard to speak to someone and commit yourself in that time, just as it is hard for him.

"For 18 months the club have been trying to get him to sign a new contract. There have been proposals put to him and his family, so we have to keep working because he is a talented lad, that's for sure."