Middlesbrough signalled their determination to re-sign Juninho yesterday when their chairman Steve Gibson arrived in Spain, hours after Aston Villa confirmed they had opened talks to buy the Brazilian from Atletico Madrid.
Villa's interest sparked a flurry of legal activity on Teesside as Middlesbrough's lawyers sought to clarify the club's rights to sign the player. Boro have first option on Juninho as part of the £12.5 million deal which took him to Atletico in the summer of 1997 and seem willing to pay the £10 million-plus it would take to bring him back.
Middlesbrough's players and their manager Bryan Robson are on a mid-season break in Israel but the club confirmed last night: "We have always had first option on Juninho and that remains the case. We have spoken to Atletico Madrid and they have promised to keep us in touch with any developments."
Gibson's arrival in Spain indicates that Boro's involvement is more significant than that. His trip followed a visit by an Atletico delegation to Villa Park on Thursday, after which Villa's manager John Gregory said: "I had a busy day yesterday and can confirm that I met some people. But there is nothing else I can add at the moment.
"I'm trying to sidestep the issue. As far as I am concerned the situation is much the same as it was a week ago. But I can confirm that I saw some people yesterday and that things might have advanced a little further."
Juninho, 26 next month, is known to admire Villa's football and their progress under Gregory, but he retains a strong bond for Middlesbrough, where he played for two seasons until the club's relegation to the first division.
His family has kept in touch with Middlesbrough and the two parties remain close. The question is whether Gibson can persuade the forward that a return to the Riverside represents a better career move than a transfer to Villa or staying in Spain, where he has been marginalised by Atletico's coach Arrigo Sacchi.
Villa's striker Dion Dublin will see a specialist this weekend to assess whether he needs surgery on his groin. Dublin, who is ruled out of today's FA Cup tie against Fulham, has been troubled by the injury for a month. "He knows it has been restricting him in games," said Gregory. "He has not been quite the same player as when he first came to the club from Coventry."
Meanwhile Liverpool have signed the Cameroon defender Rigobert Song for £2.6 million from the Italian club Salernitana. The 21-year-old will arrive at Anfield on Monday. Arsenal's Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte will be out for six weeks after a cartilage operation.
The Newcastle defender Philippe Albert is to join Fulham on loan until the end of the season on Monday. The move will reunite the Belgian with his former Newcastle manager, Kevin Keegan.
And Sheffield Wednesday have denied claims by the Norwegian club Molde that they made a bid by fax for the midfielder Daniel Berg Hestad.
