Boro and Porto battle for Benni

Click here to read how planetfootball.com revealed Middlesbrough's latest bid for McCarthy.

McCarthy has been on loan at Porto for the last few months and the Portuguese giants do have first refusal on the player.

However, Celta are demanding a fee in the region of ‚é¼10 million and Boro have told their Spanish counterparts that they are willing to pay that.

Porto are holding talks with the Galician club and are offering three players to the Spanish club in hope that a deal can be agreed.

The players in question are Deco, Nuno Capucho and Hugo Ibarra, but unfortunately for Porto - Celta are not showing a great deal of interest in any of them.

The Liga club have other targets on the transfer front, including PSG star Peter Luccin who has enjoyed a season-long loan deal in Vigo.

Because of this, Celta are more inclined to talk with Middlesbrough - as the English club are willing to pay straight cash.

Porto are still negotiating and have options open to them, one of which is by signing another South African to go with McCarthy.

Bochum's Delron Buckley is wanted by Porto, but whilst the player would jump at a move, it seems that a deal would only be pushed through if McCarthy completed his transfer.

McCarthy's agent Rob Moore has told planetfootball.com that it is still a mystery as to where his client will end up.

"It is very much up in the air," said Moore.

"At the end of the day the player will decide, he will make the decision and it looks as if he will have a tough choice to make."