DANNY Mills' future is likely to be determined by what happens off the field at Elland Road, rather than what he does on the pitch in the final two months of the season.

The England international, who has been on loan at Middlesbrough since the end of August, is due to return to Leeds United at the end of the current campaign.

Boro boss Steve McClaren is keen to offer him a permanent deal at the Riverside after a series of barnstorming displays, which have made him a firm favourite among the club's fans.

But Leeds manager Eddie Gray is equally keen to see him back in West Yorkshire after watching Gary Kelly fail to impress in Mills' favoured right-back role.

Mills was sent to Teesside after publicly falling out with former Leeds boss Peter Reid, but Gray is a firm admirer after working closely with him in his former role as United coach.

That could prove immaterial if the Yorkshire consortium currently locked in talks with Leeds' creditors succeed in their takeover at Elland Road.

The new owners would look to bring in their own manager and, with significant cost-cutting almost certain to be on the cards, Boro would be given the green light to make an offer.

Recent exits have made Mills one of the highest earners still on Leeds' books and, while the two clubs could not come to an agreement during January's transfer window, a bid of £500,000 could prove enough to secure an established international who cost £4m nearly five years ago.

"Who knows where I will be next season?" admitted Mills. "The manager wants me here while Eddie Gray said he would love me back at Leeds.

"The two clubs could not agree a fee during the transfer window so we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Mills is one of eight Boro players whose future beyond the end of the season is far from certain.

Bolo Zenden's loan deal is also due to expire in May, while Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu and Mark Schwarzer all have one more year to run on their current deals.

Joseph-Desire Job, Doriva and Stewart Downing are all out of contract in the summer and McClaren is locked in a series of discussions.

Talks with Downing are understood to be at the most advanced stage, with the 19-year-old poised to put pen to paper before the end of the week.

The youngster made his full Boro debut in a 1-0 defeat at Ipswich almost two years ago and impressed in a successful two-month loan spell at Sunderland earlier this season.

Three goals in seven starts on Wearside alerted other clubs to Downing's potential, but McClaren is confident that the homegrown star will commit his future to Teesside.

"We're very close to agreeing a new deal," said the Boro boss. "We've had talks with him and his agent and they went very well.

"He wants to play for his hometown club and I want him to be here too. He's a lad of immense potential and I'll be delighted if we can tie up a deal because we want to keep our best young players at the club."

* Steve McClaren has revealed he might still be Manchester United assistant manager had he known that Sir Alex Ferguson would reverse his retirement decision.

McClaren left Old Trafford in June 2001 when Ferguson was still expected to retire the following summer. But McClaren says his decision was prompted not by a desire to go it alone as a manager but to ensure he would not be left unemployed.

He said: ''I was getting everything I wanted at Manchester United. Sir Alex decided he was going to retire and it could have left me in the last year of my contract, wondering what was happening so I took the opportunity.

''But if he wasn't retiring then I would have stayed at Manchester United and been perfectly happy doing that and waiting for my opportunity when that came.

''I wanted to try management, a little bit earlier than I thought, and I loved it. It's everything I thought it would be.