Southampton eye Gibson

Southampton are lining up a move for Middlesbrough centre-back Ben Gibson, according to the Daily Star.

The south coast club are on the lookout for a replacement for Virgil Van Dijk, who handed in a transfer request last week and is expected to be sold by the end of the month.

Liverpool remain the frontrunners in the race to secure the Dutch international’s services with title favourites Manchester City and Chelsea are also monitoring the situation.

Like Van Dijk, Gibson has been the subject of rife transfer speculation all summer with Tottenham Hotspur among those interested in signing the twenty-four year old.

He played every one of Boro’s league games last season, scoring his only goal of the campaign in a 2-1 loss to Spurs last September though he was unable to help steer them to Premier League safety.

He received his first senior England call up in March, but is yet to make his debut for Gareth Southgate’s side.