Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has insisted he only wants a
fully committed Jonathan Woodgate to stay with the club.
A £6million deal has already been agreed with Real Madrid for
Woodgate - who is on a season-long loan at The Riverside.
However, Southgate insists he only wants Woodgate to stay if he is
fully focused and does not want him to regard a move to his
hometown club as the 'comfortable thing to do'.
"We have to show him we are going in the right direction and we are
starting to make progress," said Southgate.
"He needs to see the potential the club has, and hopefully he knows
where I can take the club, and the drive I and the chairman
have.
"The bonus is that it is his hometown club, but if he comes here I
want it to be because he drives us on, not that it is the
comfortable thing to do.
"He is good enough to play for England again. He is playing at a
level where he could do himself justice, but the biggest thing in
his mind is getting a full season under his belt and making sure he
is available for us on every occasion."
Southgate admitted a deal was in place for Woodgate, should the
26-year-old decide to move back to the North East - something which
is far from certain.
"There is a fee agreed and at the end of the season it is up to
Real Madrid if they are prepared to let him go and if Jonathan
wants to stay here," he said.
"If he decides he doesn't want to stay at Real Madrid or come to
us, then he could still go somewhere else. That is his choice."