STEWART DOWNING has told Middlesbrough he does not want to drop back down to the Championship – even though that is where his hometown club would prefer him to go this month.

Boro are prepared to let the 32-year-old leave and would prefer him to head out on loan, something the player is reluctant to do given the interest in him.

Crystal Palace, now managed by his former West Ham boss Sam Allardyce, is his preferred destination and that has caused a problem for Middlesbrough at this stage.

Middlesbrough are just a place above Palace in the battle to stay in the Premier League, with three points separating them ahead of the final 18 matches of the season.

Allardyce is a big admirer of Downing so there is every chance he could play a crucial role in lifting Palace up the Premier League table over the next few months.

That in turn could have a negative impact on Middlesbrough’s own chances of staying in the top-flight, despite Aitor Karanka’s team showing they can record positive results and deliver good performances at the top level.

Middlesbrough have plenty of options for Downing to return to the Championship. Derby and Aston Villa are two most keen, although Rafael Benitez would consider taking him to Newcastle too.

Having spent a full campaign in the second tier last season, however, Downing is keen to stay in the Premier League, even though he is understood to have options in the United States’ Major League Soccer as well.

Palace are the most realistic option even though there are others thought to be keen. North-East neighbours Sunderland, where he spent time on loan earlier in his career, have not made a move for him at this stage, despite being in desperate need of players.

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Leaving? Jordan Rhodes

Karanka is trying not to focus too much on Downing’s situation and is being kept up-to-date with developments on the outgoings front. He has already moved Tomas Mejias, Julien de Sart and David Nugent on and he hopes Downing and striker Jordan Rhodes will follow sooner rather than later.

Rhodes has attracted a lot of interest from the Championship. The problem he faces is that clubs are reluctant to give Middlesbrough anywhere near the £12m figure being floated around.

Aston Villa and Derby County, who have since signed Nugent, are two of those to have been in touch and Sheffield Wednesday are one of the frontrunners provided an agreement can be reached over a fee.

Andy Rhodes, the Owls’ goalkeeper coach, is Rhodes’ dad and their assistant manager, Lee Bullen, at Hillsborough has admitted they are keen to sign him.

Bullen said: “Andy is a good pal of mine so I know through him how frustrated Jordan is at Boro. There are about ten Championship clubs who would take him in an instant, and I’d imagine we’d be one of them if he became available.

"Jordan’s certainly got plenty of suitors, which is what you would expect of a proven goalscorer at our level. His situation baffles me.

“Even last Monday against Leicester, Middlesbrough took a defensive midfielder off and put another one on, while Jordan was on the bench. It was like they were settling for what they had at 0-0.”

The money raised this month by Karanka – or saved from the wage bill – will strengthen his own attempts to try to improve the Middlesbrough squad.

The Spanish head coach is interested in Stoke’s frustrated Spaniard Bojan Krkic and Everton’s Gerard Deulofeu as well as Hull’s Rob Snodgrass. There have also been suggestions in the last 24 hours that they have made an ambitious move for Paris St Germain forward Jese Rodriguez.

The 23-year-old knows Karanka from his time at Real Madrid. Jese joined PSG last summer for £21m and has struggled to hold down a place in Unai Emery’s squad.