‘His contract’s up’: Manager says reported Rangers target is free to leave, £15m man will go

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Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock has admitted that Rangers target Britt Assombalonga will be allowed to leave the Riverside when his contract expires at the end of this season, as reported by the Northern Echo.

When the North East outfit paid a club-record £15 million to sign the Nottingham Forest talisman four years ago, the expectation was that Assombalonga would fire Boro back into the promised land of the Premier League at some point.

Flash forward to April 2021, however, and the former top-flight stalwarts are once again kissing goodbye to their promotion hopes.

A 1-1 Easter Monday draw with Watford means Middlesbrough are now tenth in the Championship table, nine points adrift of the play-off places.

Assombalonga, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen against the Hornets – left out of the matchday squad for a fourth successive league fixture.

And, with his contract due to expire in July, Warnock has confirmed that the 28-year-old centre-forward is entering his final few months as a Boro player, that £15 million price-tag looking more costly by the week.

“Is there an acceptance that he will leave in the summer? Yes, I think that’s been common knowledge for a few months really, from both parties,” said the veteran gaffer.

“It’s difficult because he’s been my captain. I’m not going to mess him about. It’s not his fault his contract is up and he’s on a good contract.

“I’ve had no problems with him, but I’m not going to take him (to games) for the sake of taking him to put him on the team-sheet. We’ve got one or two other strikers on the team-sheet, I have to respect him as well.

“I won’t just use him like that. If the others are fit, it’s difficult to see him being involved.”

Is that it then? Has Assombalonga played his final game in Middlesbrough colours? It certainly looks like it.

GiveMeSport reported in March that Steven Gerrard’s Rangers are keen to add the soon-to-be free-agent to a title-winning squad. Could Assombalonga swap the Championship for the Champions League next term?