Middlesbrough will seemingly find it difficult to keep centre-back Ben Gibson this summer following their failure to secure a return to the Premier League.

As covered by The Northern Echo, Everton have dropped their interest in Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles, and will instead pursue a deal for Boro's Gibson.

And it is being reported that the Merseyside outfit are confident of having an offer accepted by the Championship club in the region of £20m.

It is not difficult to see why Premier League clubs are interested in Gibson, who made 51 appearances in all competitions for Boro during the 2017-18 campaign.

The 25-year-old has actually played over 200 times for Boro in all competitions, and there will be a big hole if the centre-back moves on this summer.

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That said, the club's supporters have high hopes for Dael Fry, who impressed for England's Under-21 side at the Toulon Tournament this summer.

The Boro fans have been reacting to the transfer speculation surrounding Gibson, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: