Shay Given will return to Aston Villa at the end of the month after Boro failed to push through an extension to his current loan deal
Shay Given
Shay Given will return to Aston Villa at the end of the month after Boro failed to push through an extension to his current loan deal.
The club have been involved in protracted negotiations with Aston Villa throughout the transfer window but finally admitted defeat yesterday afternoon.
Given, 37, joined Boro on an initial one month emergency loan on November 28 and that deal was extended by a further two months on New Year’s Day.
For the vastly-experienced Irishman to stay until the end of the season, a deal would have had to be agreed before the January window closed at 11pm last night.
The Gazette understands that negotiations broke down for financial reasons.
Given is believed to be earning in the region of £50,000 per week and Boro are simply unable to match that kind of salary - or a significant percentage of it - even over a short-term contract.
He will be able to play in the Championship fixtures against Doncaster, Blackburn, Watford and Leeds before returning to Villa and by then Jason Steele should have fully recovered from his ankle injury. Boro also have the option of signing another keeper on loan during the emergency window, which opens at the end of next week.
Meanwhile, Faris Haroun has revealed that he turned down offers from abroad to sign for Blackpool. The Belgium midfielder parted company with Boro on Thursday. His contract - which was due to expire in the summer - was cancelled by mutual consent and that meant the player was a free agent.
Prior to that, Blackpool had been trying to thrash out a loan deal for Haroun but were unable to agree terms.
But, after ending his two-and-a-half year stay with Boro, the 28-year-old agreed a contract with the Tangerines that runs until the end of the season. He links up with former clubmate Tony McMahon, who has also signed up with Blackpool until the summer.
Haroun, who played just 29 minutes for Boro this season, coming off the bench in the opening day defeat to Leicester, said: “I had a lot of offers out of the UK - maybe those offers were for more money - but I was waiting for a good club to take me because I want to stay here.
“When I had the call from the coach to come and join Blackpool it was an easy choice.”
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