MIDDLESBROUGH are considering their options after Brentford rejected a £4.5m bid for in-demand midfielder Jota.

Boro made their move for the Spanish 26-year-old at the start of the week, having monitored him closely during his loan spell with La Liga side Eibar last season.

Garry Monk is keen to sign a centre-half and attacking midfielder before the transfer window closes next Thursday, and Jota had been earmarked for the latter position.

Boro officials regard their £4.5m offer as generous given that Jota has entered the final two years of his contract at Griffin Park, but the Brentford hierarchy turned it down and confirmed their valuation of the midfielder as closer to £8m.

Boro’s recruitment team regard that as too high, and are currently considering their options. They could return with an improved offer closer to the end of the transfer window, or may opt to pursue one of the alternative targets that have already been discussed with Monk.

To further complicate the situation, Newcastle United and Brighton have also been keeping tabs on Jota’s situation, with Brentford boss Dean Smith having publicly confirmed his club’s preference to sell to a Premier League side.

When asked about Jota’s situation in the wake of his side’s Carabao Cup victory at QPR on Tuesday, Smith said: “I’ve left that all down to the directors of football.”

Boro’s pursuit of Ryan Shotton is also no further forward, with the Birmingham City defender having featured in his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to Bournemouth this week.

Boro have agreed a deal for Shotton, and the centre-half is keen to move to the Riverside, but Blues boss Harry Redknapp has consistently stated that he will not allow the 28-year-old to leave St Andrew’s until he has a central-defensive replacement in place.

Redknapp signed Carl Jenkinson and Cohen Bramall from Arsenal earlier this week, but does not regard either as a like-for-like replacement for Shotton.

He has a preferred target in mind, which is understood to be Bristol City’s Aden Flint, but has so far been unable to strike an acceptable deal, leaving Shotton in limbo.

“We’ve done a deal with Boro, Ryan wants to go, but we’re looking for a replacement,” said Redknapp. “We’ve been trying to get one in, but I can only spend on a replacement what I get for Ryan.

“At the moment, the replacement I wanted is a bit more than I’d be getting for Ryan, so it’s a bit of a stalemate really.”