Middlesbrough rejected initial £12m offer for Gibson
Friday 3 August 2018 12:00, UK
Burnley have made an improved £13m bid for Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson, according to Sky sources.
Sky Sports News understands Middlesbrough rejected Burnley's initial bid of £12m for the centre-back, who signed a new five-year deal last season.
Gibson, who has come through the Middlesbrough academy, has made 185 appearances for the club and Boro boss Tony Pulis admitted on Friday they will likely have to accept it if one of its players wants to play in the Premier League.
If he has the opportunity and the chance to go to the Premier League then brilliant for Ben.
"I'm not sure where the negotiations are with that one," Pulis said.
"If he has the opportunity and the chance to go to the Premier League then brilliant for Ben. What has got to happen is that we make sure we get the best deal we possibly can for the football club and that we know where the next centre half is.
"Good players move on and they move on to bigger clubs. We would love to say it is not going to happen and we are in a position to keep the richer clubs or Premier League clubs from our players.
"Everybody in their profession wants to play at the top level. He has to seriously think about it and that's him as a person, not Middlesbrough.
"What we have to do is respect that but make sure we are clever enough that we can go and invest the money in players who can do a similar job or even better."
The Middlesbrough captain has attracted interest from Everton, West Ham and Leicester who made an approach for him in the last two windows.
Gibson, who is the nephew of Boro owner Steve Gibson, was called up to the England squad by Gareth Southgate in March 2017 for the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania.
Middlesbrough open their Sky Bet Championship campaign against Millwall at The Den on Saturday.
