BORO are set to join the bidding for versatile Brett Emerton if the Aussie decides to quit Feyenoord for the Premiership in the summer.

Emerton has been on Boro's wanted list for months and club scouts made another personal check in Feyenoord's 4-3 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam at the weekend.

But the 22-year-old, who captained Australia in the Sydney Olympics and is in their Confederation Cup squad announced this week, is also being tracked by a queue of clubs headed by Inter Milan, Manchester United, Leeds and Blackburn.

Emerton can play in midfield or as a wing-back - and Boro could make it an Aussie double with 23-year-old Millwall wing-back Lucas Neill also being targeted.

Boro coach Terry Venables knows Emerton from his spell in charge of Australia during their qualifying games for the last World Cup and has already confirmed the club's interest.

Boro's Paul Okon partnered Emerton in midfield in Australia's surprise victory in Scotland this season - and they link up together again for the Confederation Cup in the far East next month, along with Boro 'keeper Mark Schwarzer.

Emerton, though, claims he is undecided about his future and said: "I'm happy and not looking to leave Feyenoord but it depends on several things."

Meanwhile, Venables will next week be tempted with a two-year contract to stay at Middlesbrough.

And last night he confessed: "This is the most important decision I've ever had to make."

Boro chairman Steve Gibson will return from a business trip to South Africa with an offer he hopes Venables cannot refuse.

He wants the coach to sign a new deal that would put him up alongside the top-earning Premiership bosses.

But Venables denied he has already reached a decision on his future. "I will speak to the chairman next week and see where it takes us," he said.

"I've had a long time to think about things and maybe I know and maybe I don't.

"I'm just not going to talk about it until I've sat down with the chairman after the final game. We have talked about it once and we decided not to talk about it.

"We agreed it was best to leave it until the season was over so we could focus on the job in hand and that's what we'll do."