WEST HAM boss Glenn Roeder last night warned Middlesbrough to act fast or risk missing out on Trevor Sinclair.

Boro manager Steve McClaren, who has already seen Geremi, David Dunn, Brett Emerton and Alan Wright escape his transfer dragnet, had hoped to tie up the signing of England winger Sinclair last week.

But with defender Glen Johnson joining Chelsea in a deal intitally worth £3m, any immediate pressure on the Hammers to sell has suddenly eased.

Roeder, however, is eager to begin reshaping his squad following relegation and wants the futures of the likes of Sinclair, Joe Cole, Freddie Kanoute and former Sunderland star Don Hutchison, resolved quickly.

Northern Echo SPORT exclusively revealed Boro's interest in £2m-rated Sinclair on June 4.

Birmingham, Tottenham and Wolves have also been linked with the 30-year-old, who scored in the Hammers' 4-0 pre-season win at Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Roeder confirmed: "We're in talks with several clubs about one or two of our players and things are moving slowly; the important thing is that they are moving forward.

"Clubs who got involved a bit early and dragged their feet a little, if they are not careful might miss out because other clubs have got involved with our players and are showing a definite interest.

"Trevor Sinclair is an example, where other clubs are showing interest and we could expect the involvement of those clubs to step up in the next few weeks.''

McClaren is also interested in Real Madrid's Brazilian midfielder Flavio Conceicao after the Spanish giants last week agreed to sell Geremi to Chelsea for £6.9m.

Cameroon international Geremi spent last season on loan at the Riverside, and Boro are understood to be exploring the possibility of taking Conceicao on similar terms.

Boro chief executive Keith Lamb was reported to be ready to fly to Madrid to open talks.

However, sources in Spain suggest that Real may be seeking as much as £8m for Conceicao, which would place him way out of Boro's price range.

Meanwhile, Boro's Argentinian midfielder Carlos Marinelli, who spent three months on loan to Torino last season before a permanent move collapsed over personal terms, has been linked with Italian clubs - Bari and Ancona.

l Boro striker Malcolm Christie will take the No 11 shirt vacated by Alen Boksic last season.

l Cardiff have completed the signing of former Boro defender Tony Vidmar on a free transfer.

The Australian international, released at the end of last season, links up with ex-Boro boss Lennie Lawrence.

l Former Boro goalkeeper Marlon Beresford's move to York City has fallen through after he failed a medical.

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