MIDDLESBROUGH'S Steve McClaren is being thwarted at every turn in the transfer market after becoming the latest manager to be warned off in the chase for Fulham midfielder Sean Davis.

McClaren, who yesterday saw long-time target Geremi lined up for a £6.9m move to Chelsea from Real Madrid, would dearly love to land 23-year-old Davis.

But Fulham this week rejected a £3.5m bid - rising to £5m - from Everton and left Goodison boss David Moyes in no doubt that they don't want to part with the England Under-21 international.

McClaren has received similar feedback and was further frustrated yesterday in his attempt to push through a £2m deal for West Ham winger Trevor Sinclair.

The Boro boss had been optimistic about securing Sinclair's signature this week.

But the fall-out from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's £150m takeover at Chelsea is having far-reaching repercussions for the rest of the Premiership.

The Hammers this week agreed to sell England Under-21 defender Glen Johnson to Chelsea in a deal ultimately worth £6m, easing the pressure to cash in on Sinclair following relegation.

Chelsea will put £3m down for Johnson with the remainder coming in increments.

But West Ham are understood to be looking to raise £8m to keep the bank manager happy and Boro still believe they can capture 30-year-old Sinclair.

McClaren is refusing to panic over his transfer travails; he was also out of luck in moves for David Dunn and Brett Emerton.

He was already virtually resigned to missing out on Geremi, who spent last season on loan at the Riverside.

Real turned down Boro's £3m end-of-season offer, insisting they would hold out for over £9m.

But they have agreed to take less and with Abramovich's riches at his disposal, Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri was able to renew his interest in the Cameroon midfielder, who would have moved to Stamford Bridge last summer in a £7.7m deal had it not been for a cash crisis at the West London club.

Barry Silkman, acting as a go-between in the deal, said: ''A fee of 10million euros has been agreed and terms will be finalised sooner or later - hopefully in the next 24 to 48 hours.

''It's a great opportunity for Geremi. At Real, maybe he wouldn't be a regular. He enjoyed his time at Middlesbrough but Chelsea are the most up-and-coming club at the moment and that's the one he's chosen to go to.

''He's 24 and has probably got the best seven or eight years in front of him. He was outstanding at Middlesbrough for most of the season and is a proven Premiership player.

''I believe Chelsea have got a terrific deal and it looks like they are going to buy some quality players.''

With Geremi and Johnson on board, it is a case of two down and any number more to go for the free-spending Abramovich.

Last week Abramovich was reported to be bankrolling bids for Italy international defender Alessandro Nesta, Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert, Brazilian star Ronaldinho and even Arsenal hero Thierry Henry.

The transfer bandwagon continued to gather pace, with Chelsea also being linked with Andrei Shevchenko, Christian Vieri, Edgar Davids, Damien Duff, Wayne Bridge and David Trezeguet.

Juventus claimed to have turned down an approach for Davids, while Inter Milan declared they had rejected a bid for Vieri.

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