Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has hit back at Gareth Southgate over the signing of Afonso Alves.
Row over who wasted money on Brazilian striker rumbles on
Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has hit back at Gareth Southgate over the signing of Afonso Alves.
Southgate, the former Boro manager, claimed he was against signing the £12million flop, who failed to cut the grade after 18 months on Teesside and left the club after they were relegated from the Premier League.
Southgate's comments have come as a genuine surprise to Lamb, who insists the Riverside outfit have always given their manager the final say on transfer deals.
And the Boro chief executive maintains that the former England international was keen to bring the Brazil international to the club after impressing during his spell with Dutch side Heerenveen.
Disappointed
Lamb said in
the Mirror: "Gareth has publicly confirmed his involvement in signing Alves on more than one previous occasion and that was absolutely accurate
"I'm personally surprised and disappointed not only with the timing of Gareth's announcement but that he has chosen to make these comments at all.
"The truth is that in the 25 years I have been with the club no player has been signed without the full agreement of both the manager and the chairman.
"The manager has always had the final say on potential signings because it is his team and that was very much the case with Alves.
"Ultimately, it didn't work out for Alves at Middlesbrough and we had to move him on due to the financial implications of relegation from the Premier League, but we all felt at the time that the player had an excellent pedigree and would score goals in the Premier League."
