STEWART DOWNING has agreed a new five year contract at Boro and is hoping to sign it on Monday. As he is the the most potent creative force at the club and the ideal man to ping the crosses in for goal machine Afonso Alves to score from that is excellent news for everyone.
Everyone apart from Ian Elliot that is. Having painted himself into a corner by saying his boy would not sign a new deal, wanted out and would run down his contract and leave on a free then rattling the cage with talk of legal action he has made himself look a bit of a prat. He may well have forced the club back to the table with a new deal with talk of Downing exit (although they were always going to stump up) but he has burned his bridges with the very people he is supposed to be smoozing in order to get the best possible deal for his client.
And Downing has now flatly contradicted Elliott's contention that he wanted to leave and insisted the support of fans - who could quite easily have reacted vehemently after the agent's comments to just about anyone who would listen - helped persuade him to stay. He said:
“This is where I want to be. It’s my hometown club but I had told them that I didn’t want us to stand still. Signing Alves shows how ambitious we are. There’s been talk about other clubs but I never wanted out. This is what I’ve wanted all along. I’d like to thank the fans for the support they have given me. They could have really got on my back in recent weeks in response to all that was being said. But they have been great.”
We have discussed on the blog before how Downing is a key element of Gareth Southgate's attacking style and so is crucial to the club - but also how the system and his role in it at Boro suits him and gives him a platform and an opportunity to boost his profile, his Opta stats, his DJing career and his England prospects too. It is a perfect matych.
After a productive January on and off the pitch this signing - ahead of schedule - is a great result. Another building block of a potentially great team is slotted into place. Wheater next.
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