MIDDLESBROUGH manager Gordon Strachan will contact Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp next month in an attempt to re-sign full-back Kyle Naughton for next season.

Naughton has made 14 appearances since joining Boro on loan from Spurs in January, with his versatility enabling him to slot in at both right and left-back during the second half of the season.

Strachan has been impressed by the 21-year-old’s impact at the Riverside, and will open talks as quickly as possible in the hope of ensuring Sunday’s game at Leicester is not Naughton’s last in a Middlesbrough shirt.

Ideally, the Boro boss would like to sign the former Sheffield United defender on a permanent deal, but with Spurs having paid around £4.5m to purchase him last summer, the Teessiders could find themselves priced out of the market.

In that case, Strachan will raise the possibility of a season- long loan deal that would enable Naughton to continue his development in the North- East.

“I like Kyle a lot,” said the Boro boss, who is also hoping to sign Stephen McManus on a permanent basis when his loan deal from Celtic expires.

“There’s more to his game than meets the eye and I’d love to work with him for a wee while longer.

“I’ve asked him if he would be keen to stay, and he’s open minded. I have to speak to Harry first, but we’d definitely like him to stay here because I think there’s a lot more to come from him.

“He can play in different positions and I think he’s someone who could have a really bright future.”

Strachan has already agreed a deal for his first signing of the summer, with Scottish Division Three champions Livingston having accepted an initial fee of around £100,000 for winger Andy Halliday.

The 18-year-old, who is Livingston’s leading scorer this season with 15 goals, is understood to have agreed a three-year deal with the Teessiders.

Boro have watched him on a number of occasions, and Halliday impressed in a weeklong trial on Teesside a couple of months ago.

His transfer will be officially confirmed when the window reopens at the start of June, and Strachan is hoping he will go on to emulate fellow Livingston products Graham Dorrans and Robert Snodgrass, who have enjoyed considerable success with West Brom and Leeds United respectively.

“Nothing’s confirmed yet, but we’re a long way down the road towards bringing Andrew in,” he said. “He came down and worked with us for a week a couple of months ago, and we liked what we saw.

“He’s hungry, he’s 18 and Livingston have a good record of producing players. Hopefully, he can be another player to emerge from Livingston and go on to do well.

“He’s cost us sweeties. He’s a player we’re keen to have a look at, and he’s cost us next to nothing.”

While Strachan was given around £5m to spend in January, chairman Steve Gibson is expected to clutch the purse strings much tighter this summer. As a result, unheralded signings such as Halliday could become the norm.

“It’s the kind of transfer we’ll have to do more of in the future,” said Strachan. “If they do well and subsequently get sold on for a profit, I won’t have a problem with that. They’d have to do well here first though, and that’s obviously the priority.

“They’re gambles, and some of them work, some don’t. But this club has gambled with a lot more money than I’m talking about in the past, and a lot of those gambles haven’t exactly been brilliant.”

Strachan is sweating on the fitness of a number of players as he ponders his side for Sunday’s trip to the Walkers Stadium. Gary O’Neil should be available after returning to training yesterday, but Stephen McManus (knee), Julio Arca (calf) and Jeremie Aliadiere (leg) are all doubts.