Middlesbrough transfer news: Boro plot return raid to finally land Hull City £6m defender Harry Maguire
Aitor Karanka has had two bids turned down - now Boro boss will pay £6million to make it third time lucky
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HARRY MAGUIRE is once again a £6million Middlesbrough target.
The 23-year-old Hull City defender was wanted by Boro boss Aitor Karanka in the summer - and he's still interested.
Boro twice made unsuccessful bids of around £4m and £5m for Maguire but they came at a time when Hull were desperately short of players and were reluctant to sell to their fellow-promoted rivals.
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Maguire said at the time: "Middlesbrough kept coming back, but the club kept rejecting them.
"That gave me a bit of confidence and showed that they want to keep me for the long season ahead."
But Maguire's current deal is up at the end of the end of the season and Karanka is apparently encouraged by the lack of progress in talks between the player and club.
He has made 11 appearance in league and cup this season, including Tuesday night's EFL Cup triumph over Newcastle.
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"It’s about playing more regular football, really," said Maguire. "I want security in terms of the length of contract, but I also want to be playing in the first-team every week.
";I’m in the last six months of my contract at Hull now and I want it all resolved as quickly as possible."
While Karanka is clearly a fan of Maguire he is hardly short of numbers at the back.
Ben Gibson and Calum Chambers work well together, while Daniel Ayala is another option after returning from an ankle injury.
Colombian Bernardo Espinosa is also there awaiting his first Premier League appearance since signing from Sporting Gijon.
And Borussia Dortmund's Neven Subotic, another summer target for Boro, has opened the door to a January move to Teesside after recovering from serious injury.