AITOR KARANKA has refused to confirm that Middlesbrough have made an offer for Nottingham Forest winger Michail Antonio even though he has admitted that he would like more new players.

The Boro head coach is understood to be keen on Antonio and discussions between the two clubs have taken place, with Mustapha Carayol mentioned as a possible makeweight by heading to the City Ground on loan.

Derby County have made a formal £4m offer for the former Sheffield Wednesday man, but Forest do not want to sell to a local rival particularly after West Brom made a bid worth around £6m earlier in the summer.

Middlesbrough remain interested in the 25-year-old, but when asked if an offer had gone in for Antonio there was no confirmation or denial from Karanka.

“No (I won’t say anything) because everybody was speaking a lot about our link with Jordan Rhodes without doing nothing, and everyone thought we had spent £12m,” said Karanka. “He is not here so I prefer not to speak about Antonio as he is not here, and I don't want to hear again 'Middlesbrough are signing Rhodes' or 'Middlesbrough are signing Antonio' when he is not here.

“We are working (on targets) but I've said that if the transfer window closes tomorrow, I'm really pleased with the squad. If some players arrive before the window finishes, I'll be happy as they will be players who want to be here and who I want here. Let's see what happens until the September 1.”

As well as an extra winger, Karanka is searching for a new goalkeeper and AC Milan’s Michael Agazzi was thought to be top of the wish-list following Shay Given’s decision to opt for Stoke City instead of Teesside.

The Middlesbrough boss said: “We are looking for a goalkeeper but if the goalkeeper arrives before the transfer market (shuts) then great, if not we've got Dimi Konstantopoulos and Tomas (Mejias) and I trust them.

“If someone is coming it's because we want him and he wants to come here. We're not going to bring in a player that we're not fully convinced that he's ready or a good thing to come here.”

Karanka, who revealed Jonathan Woodgate is fit again after hamstring trouble, reported no fresh injury problems ahead of Saturday’s Championship fixture with Bristol City at the Riverside. He did hint that he could make changes though to freshen his side up.

He said: “Everyone is fit, some of them are tired as players like Daniel Ayala and Adam Clayton have played three or four games in a row, some players have played two, but I have to speak with them again to choose the best XI.”