The Millwall loanee is expected to make his move to Boro permanent and his manager at the Riverside has tipped him to become club captain one day.
Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis has made a bold prediction regarding the future of George Saville.
The 25-year-old midfielder swapped parent club Millwall for the Riverside Stadium on loan deadline day back in August.
Although Saville’s loan finishes at the end of the year, a permanent move is expected to be completed on 1 January 2019 for around £7m, according to Transfermarkt.
The Northern Ireland international is yet to seal a first-team place in the Boro team, with just six Championship starts since his switch from the Lions seemingly hinting at a squad rotation role at best.
Nevertheless, Saville’s contributions have been part of a collective effort which has helped the Teesside outfit up to sixth in the table.
Following the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers, Boro boss Pulis singled the loanee out for praise and suggested that he could progress enough to claim the captain’s armband in future.
“I think one day George will end up being captain of this football club,” Pulis is quoted by Teesside Live as saying. “He’s got the right character, he’s just found it difficult at the moment.
“He’s been a London boy all his life and coming up here is so, so different. Eventually that kid will captain the club. He’s a good player but we need more off him.”
As well as Boro and Millwall, Saville has turned out for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford after learning the ropes at Chelsea’s academy, while at international level, he has won nine caps for Northern Ireland.
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