Ex-Liverpool, West Ham and Middlesbrough winger assessing his options as youth side suffer cup final defeat: News and transfer rumours

Middlesbrough are preparing for their final game of the 2020/21 season against Wycombe this weekend – but what else has been happening around the Riverside and rest of the Championship?
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We round up some of the latest Boro-related news and transfer stories from around the web:

What next for Stewart Downing?

Former Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing is assessing his options as his contract runs down at Blackburn.

Stewart Downing playing for Blackburn Rovers.Stewart Downing playing for Blackburn Rovers.
Stewart Downing playing for Blackburn Rovers.
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The 36-year-old is set to become a free agent this summer after starting just two league matches this season.

Downing has done work within Rovers’ academy structure as he continues to work on his coaching qualifications.

When asked about the former Liverpool and West Ham winger, Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray said: “Those conversations are ones for the summer. At the moment there’s no space open at our football club for him, whether he sees his future as coaching we’ll wait and see.

“Stewart has got contacts at a lot of clubs, he’s played for some top, top clubs in his career and there are a lot of people who like Stewart Downing’s personality and what he brings, he might want to play another year, I don’t know.”

Youth side suffer cup final defeat

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Middlesbrough’s under-17 side were beaten 2-0 by Brighton in the final of the Premier League Cup.

The game took place at the Riverside on Wednesday as goals in each half saw the Seagulls lift the trophy.

Boro forward Josh Coburn, who recently scored for the senior side, and highly-rated striker Calum Kavanagh both started the game for Mark Tinkler’s side.

Kike nets hat-trick

Finally, former Boro striker Kike scored a hat-trick to keep Eibar’s survival hopes alive in La Liga.

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The 31-year-old joined the Spanish club from Boro in 2016 and has scored 37 goals in 156 appearances since the move.

Despite a 3-0 win over relegation rivals Alaves, Eibar remain bottom of Spain’s top flight, five points from safety with four remaining.

But despite having a tough run-in, which includes games against Getafe, Real Betis, Valencia and Barcelona, Kike isn’t giving up hope.

The striker said: “We’ve done things wrong to be in this position but we won’t give up. I’m proud of every minute in Primera, and I’m going to give my life out there.”

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