MIDDLESBROUGH are determined to do what they can to hold onto Ben Gibson, with manager Garry Monk braced for further offers for the highly-rated centre-back before the end of the month.

Even though Boro are close to tying up a £2.5m deal for Birmingham City’s Ryan Shotton there remains a determination to keep hold of Gibson until after the transfer window.

Manchester City are pressing hard to persuade West Bromwich Albion to sell Jonny Evans and are ready to increase an initial £18m offer to £22m this week. The Baggies are holding out for £35m for a player who has proven himself in the Premier League over a number of years.

Gibson is viewed by City as an alternative option to Evans, although even if Pep Guardiola lands his first choice then West Brom will be armed with further funds to make a fresh attempt to land the Teessider.

Middlesbrough are understood to have already rejected a couple of offers for the 24-year-old and Monk doesn’t want to sell. He indicated that last week when he said he was not even thinking about losing him, although he had already admitted nothing can be ‘definitive’ in the modern transfer market.

Shotton, who was left out of Birmingham’s squad to face Burton over the weekend, is expected to move to Middlesbrough after Harry Redknapp admitted as much.

Monk is still looking to add another wing-type player to his ranks too, with Liverpool’s Ryan Kent believed to be high in his thinking after deciding to pull out of an agreement with the Reds for Sheyi Ojo, who has now gone to Fulham.

Gibson was right in the thick of things at the City Ground on Saturday when he conceded a penalty by bringing down Ben Brereton; leading to Daryl Murphy putting Nottingham Forest two goals up.

The homegrown defender then pulled one back for Middlesbrough four minutes later but Forest had already done enough to claim maximum points against a team tipped for promotion.

Monk, whose side face Scunthorpe at the Riverside in the Carabao Cup tomorrow, was disappointed with the result but insisted he had seen plenty from his players not to be concerned.

“We have done enough in pretty much all the games we have had so far to suggest we should have won them,” said Monk, whose side have lost both of their away matches and won their home dates.

“I have spoken to the players about what we need to get better at. Those are that we need to start the games better, show the intensity we showed later on in those first 20 minutes. We can’t give teams an advantage.

“After that we also need to take half chances. It is hard to be critical of the team when you know we have done more than enough to win it. On another day we would have won that game. We want to win games regularly and we have to be ready for the next two games.

“We are disappointed not to get the result at Forest. Once they got the goal we got to grips with them and created some really good chances. The players felt hard done by in the dressing room to lose it.”