Michael Carrick reacts to interest in Middlesbrough player from Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Ipswich | OneFootball

Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick has played down reports linking goalkeeper Seny Dieng with a move elsewhere in the summer transfer window.

Dieng only joined 'Boro last summer, when he signed from Championship rivals QPR for a fee

reported to be worth £2million.

Since then, the Senegal international has firmly established himself as the first choice option between the posts at The Riverside Stadium.

In total, he has made 29 appearances across all competitions for Middlesbrough, having also been part of Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations squad earlier in this calendar year.

Now though, it appears as though Dieng's form for Carrick's side during the current campaign, is attracting attention from elsewhere.

Clubs keen on Seny Dieng

According to a report from The Telegraph earlier this week, a number of clubs are taking an interest in Dieng ahead of the summer transfer window.

Premier League duo Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are both said to be keen, as are Championship leaders Ipswich Town.

Meanwhile, La Liga side Sevilla have also been identified as potential suitors for the 29-year-old.

But despite that, it seems Carrick is rather relaxed about the situation around the future of his first-choice goalkeeper as things stand right now.

Carrick on Seny Dieng transfer links

Given the nature of those links with some high profile clubs, it is perhaps no surprise that Carrick has now been asked about the future of Dieng at The Riverside Stadium.

However, the Middlesbrough manager appears to be laidback about the situation, and not entirely surprised given the way football works.

Giving his reaction to those rumours of interest in Dieng, Carrick told The Northern Echo: “That’s (the speculation over Dieng) the nature of the beast. I don’t take too much interest in anything like that.

"We know the squad we’ve got, the players we’ve got and what they’re capable of. In terms of who is linked with who and what’s going on, it doesn’t bother me.”

As things stand, there are just over three years remaining on Dieng's contract with Middlesbrough. That secures his future at The Riverside Stadium until the end of the 2026/27 season.

Middlesbrough facing uphill battle for promotion

Sadly for 'Boro, it appears unlikely they will be joining any of those clubs linked with Dieng in playing top-flight football next season.

As things stand, Carrick's side are ninth in the Championship table, six points adrift of the play-off places.

That may be a challenging deficit for them to overhaul, with just six games of the regular season still to be played.

Middlesbrough are next in action on Saturday afternoon, when they host Swansea City at The Riverside Stadium.

Carrick right to be relaxed over Dieng situation

It is hard to really blame Carrick for the stance he is taking when it comes to this interest from elsewhere in Dieng.

Any time a player performs well for a consistent period, they are going to earn admiring glances from other clubs.

This is therefore a positive reflection on the form Dieng has produced for Middlesbrough, since he joined the club.

Having done so on a long-term deal last summer, that means there is little pressure on them to sell him if they do not want to.

That in turn, means they can be confident of receiving a sizeable fee if they sell the goalkeeper this summer, which can then be reinvested back into the squad.

With all that in mind, that does seem to suggest that Carrick is right not to worry himself too much with regards to the future of Dieng at Middlesbrough beyond the end of this season.