MIDDLESBROUGH will make one last push to keep Andrew Taylor at the Riverside Stadium today with Cardiff City still in the hunt to land him.

Taylor spent Monday in the south-west discussing a move to Bristol City and Cardiff, where he would play under Malky Mackay, who was his manager during a loan spell at Watford last season.

Boro boss Tony Mowbray has not given up on keeping him and he is expected to do everything he can to keep the versatile left-back on Teesside beyond the end of his contract.

Both Taylor and Julio Arca, who has not been offered a firm deal anywhere so far, will become free agents on Friday and Mowbray would prefer their situations sorted before pre-season training begins tomorrow.

Mowbray wants the 24-year-old to form a key part of next season’s campaign.

Taylor is thought to have been impressed by what Cardiff had to offer but Boro will fight hard to convince the graduate from their academy that they can fulfil his ambitions.

Boro are also actively working on Didier Digard’s future, with Nice looking for him to head back to France on a permanent basis.

Digard has one more year remaining on his deal at the Riverside Stadium and he is due to return to start pre-season training at Rockliffe Park.

It will be the first time Digard has worked with Mowbray, who did not make the decision to let the midfielder join Nice on loan in each of the last two seasons.

The 24-year-old has been a success story at Nice and former Sunderland player Eric Roy, the club’s manager, is desperate to have him back.

Roy said: “Didier Digard is currently in discussions with Middlesbrough because he still has a year left on his contract.”

But with the Ligue 1 outfit unable to match the Premier League wages he currently receives – which make him one of the top earners on Teesside – Digard will have to accept a significant pay cut to force the deal through.

And Boro will not pay up the remainder of the contract he signed when Gareth Southgate agreed to pay £4m to Paris St Germain in July 2008, which is believed to amount to more than £1.5m.

Nice are in no position to pay that sum and match his wage demands, which could see Mowbray – who rates the player – have him on the training field for a number of weeks yet.

* Boro’s home date with Birmingham City on August 20 has been put back 24 hours to the Sunday (kick-off 3pm). The switch is down to the Blues’ involvement in a Europa League play-off tie on August 18.

And the kick-off in the return match at St Andrew’s on March 17 has been brought forward to 1pm on the advice of West Midlands Police because Aston Villa at home on the same day.