Barry Robson is the latest Celtic player to have been linked with a transfer to English Championship side Middlesbrough. A report in the Scottish News of the World claims that ex-Celtic manager Gordon Strachan wants to make the midfielder one of his first signings at the Riverside Stadium.
New Middlesbrough boss Strachan is also said to be weighing up a bid for Celtic full-back Mark Wilson. Both players were signed by the ex-Coventry and Southampton manager during his four-year stint at Parkhead.
Robson cost Strachan £1m when he was signed from Dundee United in January 2008 and it is thought that an offer to let Celtic recoup most of that fee would be enough to persuade Tony Mowbray to part with the midfielder. The player has only recently returned from injury and started in the 0-0 draw with Hamburg in midweek.
Wilson was also signed from Dundee United, Strachan paying £500,000 for the defender in 2006, and has seen his time at Parkhead troubled by injuries. Tony Mowbray has preferred to start with Andreas Hinkel at right-back and Wilson may be persuaded to try his luck in England.
A January move for either or both players could suit both Mowbray and Strachan as they put together title challenges and seek to reshape their respective squads. Celtic sit top of the SPL table but the Celtic manager has made no secret of the fact he wants to make changes to his squad.
Middlesbrough are currently tenth in the Championship table but sit only three points from a playoff spot and nine off first place. Strachan has been charged with restoring the Teeside club to the English Premier League after they were relegated last season. The estimated £1.5m it would cost Strachan to recruit both players is not likely to be a stumbling block as ‘Boro chairman Steve Gibson is renowned for backing his managers in the transfer market.
Strachan has previously been linked with a move for last season’s Player of the Year Gary Caldwell, whose current contract expires at the end of the season. However, it is thought that rather than enter transfer negotiations in January of the Scotland defender, the manager will look to pick up the player under freedom of contract for next season.
Caldwell and Robson are both expected to play against Falkirk on Sunday as Celtic look to cement their position at the top of the SPL. Both players have been named in George Burley’s Scotland squad for the international friendly in Wales on November 14.
