Aitor Karanka knows he may have to sell before he can buy

Boro's realistic head coach Aitor Karanka knows he may well have to sell players first before he can buy

Aitor Karanka returns to Rockliffe Park this week eager to start work on strengthening his side.

But the realistic head coach knows he may well have to sell players first before he can buy.

He may get an early opportunity to do just that with Premier League Swansea expected to swiftly seal their mooted £1.5m move for frontman Marvin Emnes.

And there is interest too from Championship rivals in striker Lukas Jutkiewicz with both newly promoted Wolves and Bolton Wanderers - where he was on loan last term - keen on the targetman.

That pair were fringe figures last season and it seems neither figure in his plans for this term.

But Karanka knows that he may also have to field offers for players he regards as fixtures.

And, he says, he will weigh up any offers he gets and decide if they benefit the team.

“If good teams want our players then that is a good thing because it proves that we are working well,” the shrewd Spaniard told the Gazette.

“If that happens, then we would have to make a decision on a case-by-case basis.

“The most important thing is always the team, and what works best for the club as a whole.

“You can have five or six very important players, like we have now, but you always have to look at what is best for the team.”

And he knows that saying ‘no’ is not always best for the team if interest from outside can distract a player or affect form.

“For instance, if a Premier League club was to come to sign a player, I might say, ‘no, I want this player here’, but then that player might want to go.

“That would potentially change things.

“Now, and in the future, I want players in my squad who really want to be here playing for Middlesbrough.”

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