Middlesbrough FC news: Boro ready to offload winger, Tony Mowbray on managerial past plus Blackburn midfielder previews Riverside clash

The Sheffield Star claim Boro are ready to listen to offers for the 28-year-old, who signed for the Teessiders in August 2017 for a reported £2.5 million.

Johnson signed for Sheffield United on a season-long loan at the start of this season and has played seven league games for the Blades this term - but only one start.

Since Tony Pulis arrived at the Riverside in December last year, Johnson, who was signed by Garry Monk, has played just eight minutes for Boro in the Championship.

The winger was introduced as a second-half substitute as the Blades lost 1-0 against high-flying Leeds United last time out.

Another side who are pushing for a top-six finish is Tony Mowbray's Blackburn Rovers who will visit the Riverside this weekend.

In an interview with the Teesside Gazette, Mowbray, who managed Boro between 2010 and 2013, has claimed he 'never worked harder' than when he was in charge at the Riverside.

"Boro will always be my team, I first watched them when I was six years old and my father took me to Ayresome Park, but Saturday is about points." said Mowbray.

When reflecting on his time as Boro manager, Mowbray said: “You have ideas about how you want to play but you have to win games of football, and if you don’t win enough matches people let you know about it these days on social media. That’s the way it is.

“In my time at Boro we didn’t achieve what we wanted to achieve but I worked as hard as I have ever worked in my life to get a job done and we didn’t get it done for whatever reason.”

Mowbray is sure to get a warm reception when he returns to the Riverside this weekend but will be focused on the job at hand.

Rovers are 10th in the Championship, five points off the play-offs, and midfielder Bradley Dack is expecting a tough game - despite Boro's 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa last time out.

“It will be a tough game, no doubt about it. They are a good side," said Dack.

“We have to make sure we get those last two away performances out of our system when we go up there and give a good account of ourselves."

Rovers beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 last time out and Dack is hopeful his side can produce a similar performance on Saturday.

“If we can, and perform anything like we did on Saturday then I think we can give them a good game," he added.