WITH a number of Premier League clubs lining up to offer an escape route from Middlesbrough, Matthew Bates admits he might not be around to play in the Championship next season.

Bates is no nearer to signing a new deal at the Riverside and his existing terms expire at the end of June.

While Boro would be due to receive compensation if he was to leave on a Bosman transfer, West Ham United, Wigan and Everton are ready to offer a contract.

Bates, a defender who has made his name as a defensive midfielder since the turn of the year, knows his career has reached a crucial stage following the relegation from the Premier League of the club he has supported since childhood.

Having endured three serious knee injuries in recent years, the 22-year-old is keen to make up for lost time and ideally wants to stay in the top tier.

But having failed to agree to signing a new contract offered a few months ago, Bates is faced with the decision of whether or not to reopen negotiations with Boro.

“I don’t know (whether I’ll not be playing Premier League football). Maybe I will be playing in it (Premier League). There’s decisions to be made,” said Bates. “I’m a professional footballer and I’ve missed a lot of football despite being just 22. The last thing I really want to do is play in the Championship.

“I want to play Premier League football and progress in my career as far as I can but I’m also a massive Boro supporter and I want to help them get back into the Premier League.

“Whether I’m there or not next season is another story.

There’s a big decision to be made and I’ll have to sit down in the next few weeks and make that decision.”

Dropping out of the Premier League means Boro have suffered a huge hit to their budget and what they will be able to offer the player.

“A contract offer was made around three months ago and we said with the current situation - what’s happening with the club, with me coming back from injuries - I didn’t want to be thinking about contracts,”

said Bates.

“I wanted to concentrate on playing football and didn’t want my head to be thinking about contracts. There was a professional decision to be made and I said I wanted to wait until the end of the season.”

Having formed a part of the Middlesbrough team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2004, Bates will always have a special affinity with the club he supported and then played for - which is why he is reluctant to leave.

“It’s the lowest point of my career and it was worse than I imagined it would be,” said Bates. “It’s been coming for a few weeks the way results have been going but you can never imagine how it will feel when that final game ends and you’re relegated. It’s a terrible feeling and one that I never want to experience again.

“I’m considering everything at the moment and I have a lot of thinking to do and big decisions to make. I’ll sit down with my family, my agent and speak to the manager of Middlesbrough and see where we go from here.

“It’s important that I go away, clear my head. Middlesbrough is a club I’ve supported all my life, all my family supports them and being relegated means just as much to me as it does to the fans.

There’s some big decisions to be made.”