Middlesbrough took up an option on defender Djed Spence’s contract before he joined Nottingham Forest on loan.
The in-demand right-back has another two years left to run on his deal at the Riverside Stadium, with potential suitors likely to have to splash out a significant sum if they want to snap him up in the summer.
Spence has been in outstanding form for the Reds since signing on loan from Boro last summer, with his display against Leicester City in the FA Cup on Sunday another superb showing.
Premier League Tottenham Hotspur reportedly had two bids turned down last month, while Arsenal, Leeds United, Brentford, Southampton, Roma and Inter Milan have also been linked.
His contract with Middlesbrough runs until the summer of 2024, with TeessideLive reporting chief executive Neil Bausor exercised an option to extend it by a year before the 21-year-old linked up with Forest.
He had initially penned a three-and-a-half-year deal with his parent club in early 2020 after breaking into the first-team.
Reds fans would love to see him sign permanently at the City Ground, given he has been integral to the rise up the Championship table under Steve Cooper.
The Forest head coach said this week it is a double-edged sword when loanees perform so well, knowing they could leave a big hole to fill at the end of the campaign.
“It is, but I can’t think like that too much, and the staff who work with these players can’t,” Cooper said.
“When a loan player comes in, you have to treat them like they are your own.
“You bring a loan in for a reason, to get the best out of the player so they give their best to the club, and then everyone benefits.
“There is always that risk when a loan player does so well, goes back and you’re thinking, ‘we’ve done quite a lot of work with that player and we’re in a good place’ then he maybe has to go play somewhere else.
“But that’s just the pros and cons of the loan market.
“Hopefully longer term we won’t rely as much on the loan market, we want to try to build our own team of permanent players who are growing for Nottingham Forest.
“That’s what we want to be.”
