Ray Parlour urges Middlesbrough to hold off Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Ipswich interest | OneFootball

Former Middlesbrough midfielder and England international Ray Parlour has urged the Teessiders to stave off interest in goalkeeper Seny Dieng this summer amid links to Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Ipswich Town.

Dieng only joined Boro last summer from Queens Park Rangers, but he is reportedly attracting attention from elsewhere given his impressive form of late, keeping five clean sheets in his last eight games.

The Senegal international has been linked with a move to Premier League side Newcastle, along with promotion-chasing Ipswich. Sevilla and Crystal Palace were also credited with an interest.

Michael Carrick’s side look set to miss out on the play-offs despite going the last nine games unbeaten, failing to build on their fourth-placed finish last season.

This has sparked concerns that they may now be set to lose some of their best players this summer, with bigger clubs licking their lips at the prospect of a summer raid.

Ray Parlour urges Boro to fend off Seny Dieng's interest

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via NetBet Casino, he said: “It’s important to keep your best players as next season could be one where Boro look to get into the top six given the three teams coming down from the Premier League.

“With Latte Lath now scoring goals, Boro must look to reach the play-offs next season.

“Dieng is a key part of this and unless a really big fee comes in and you can guarantee a ready-made replacement, you are only going to hinder your chances of pushing on.

“Look at Akpom's situation as Boro haven’t really replaced him and you don’t want the same scenario to happen again.”

Boro are set to have a busy summer

It is looking likely to be a very busy summer transfer window at the Riverside.

Boro have a number of talented players who have been rumoured to leave the club, such as Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg.

But they have to make sure they keep these players if they want to challenge for promotion again next season.

Dieng is a key player for the Teessiders and has been between the sticks for the majority of the season, becoming a key part of the spine of their team.

Naturally, Dieng has gained interest from top-flight clubs, which shows how well he has done this season. The 29-year-old is in his prime years and could even get better.

If Premier League clubs come calling, it might be hard for Dieng to pass up on the opportunity to play in arguably the best league in the world. However, if he were to move to Newcastle or Palace, he would likely be a backup goalkeeper to Nick Pope at St James' Park, and Dean Henderson at Selhurst Park.

If Ipswich do go up, then he may feel that they are the best team for him to move to, as he would most likely come in as their first-choice goalkeeper, and would then play regularly in the Premier League.

It will certainly be an interesting summer window ahead for Boro, and it will be intriguing to see where Dieng is come September.