AITOR KARANKA has spelled out his determination to hold on to George Friend this summer, claiming the full-back is “more than just a player” because of his wide-ranging influence at the club.

Friend has been the subject of sustained interest from a number of Premier League clubs in the last few weeks, with Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson having rejected an offer of around £4m from West Brom.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have also been in touch to inquire about Friend’s potential availability, but so far, every approach has been greeted with an immediate rebuttal.

Karanka is confident that will remain the case until the transfer window closes at the start of September, with the Spaniard regarding the left-back as a crucial part of his squad.

“I would not want to lose him,” said Karanka, ahead of tomorrow’s opening pre-season game at York City. “The most important thing in everything is that he wants to be here, and for me, it is not difficult to convince a player to stay if they want to be part of the club.

“George is the kind of player who we cannot afford to lose. Grant might be the captain, but George stands right alongside him and he is the type of player that I love. He is more than a player to us.

“He is more than what you see on the pitch – he is important on the training ground and to the crowd. He is the kind of player that I would like to have with me all my career.”

Karanka’s admission that Leadbitter will formally take over captaincy duties next season can be interpreted as a tacit admission that Jonathan Woodgate will not be returning in a playing capacity.

Woodgate has held a series of talks with both Karanka and Gibson since the end of last season, and while the 35-year-old was offered the option of another short-term playing deal, he appears to have concluded that it would be best to call time on a career that has seen him play for Leeds, Newcastle, Tottenham and Real Madrid and win eight senior England caps.

He could still return to Rockliffe Park in a coaching capacity, although the senior positions on Karanka’s backroom staff have all been filled.

“I have spoken with him, and the chairman has spoken with him too, and we are still trying to work out what is the best option for Woody and for everybody else as well,” said Karanka. “The final decision has not been made yet because we are focused on trying to bring in new players at the moment. But we all know that Woody is important for the club – we will try to get the best solution.”

Like the rest of his team-mates, Leadbitter returned to training last week, and the midfielder is already focusing on the improvements that are required to avoid a repeat of last season’s play-off heartbreak.

Always a candid assessor, Leadbitter accepts Boro were not quite good enough last term, but with attempts to improve the squad ongoing, the 29-year-old is confident the Teessiders are capable of securing the additional points needed to secure a position in the top two next May.

“I think the club will be looking to improve because we need to find an extra six-to-nine points from somewhere,” said Leadbitter. “We have to come up with a way to get extra points to get across that line, but the Championship will be even harder this year. We say it every year, but the teams coming down are spending money and there are good players coming into this league.

“There are a lot of good players in this league who could quite easily make the step up and it's going to be difficult, so we have to win a lot of games. We did that last year, but came up a bit short.”