West Brom boss Tony Pulis admits difficulty in deal to sign Ben Gibson from Middlesbrough
Thursday 27 July 2017 00:46, UK
Tony Pulis concedes it will be difficult to complete a deal to bring Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson to West Brom.
Sky Sports News revealed on Tuesday that the Baggies have had two bids for the 24-year-old centre-back turned down by the Sky Bet Championship side.
Speaking after his side's 1-0 pre-season win at Burton, Pulis told Sky Sports News: "Ben is a smashing player and I am sure Middlesbrough will want to keep him.
"[Middlesbrough chairman] Steve Gibson has had a right go and ploughed a lot of money again into the playing side.
"They'll be looking to get promoted again and you can understand they do not want to get rid of Ben.
"We have had enquiries for Ben and we've had enquiries for other players as well. We'll see how those enquiries go, but I think it's going to be very hard to get Ben out of Middlesbrough."
Gibson, who was an ever-present for Boro in the Premier League last season, is currently recovering in hospital after breaking his nose in a pre-season friendly against Rochdale at the weekend.
