NORWICH CITY are confident of being able to outbid Middlesbrough in order to sign Burnley defender Ben Gibson.

Gibson’s Turf Moor exile will finally end this summer, with the centre-half set to leave after falling out with Clarets boss Sean Dyche when a proposed January move to Watford was blocked.

Having been axed from Burnley’s first-team squad, Gibson spent the latter stages of last season training with Middlesbrough’s senior group at Rockliffe Park, and the Teessiders are keen to re-sign the 27-year-old if at all possible this summer.

However, while the Burnley hierarchy accept they will almost certainly have to agree to a loan deal for Gibson, as they are extremely unlikely to recoup a significant proportion of the £15m they spent on his signature if they are to push for a sale, they are determined to secure the best possible financial settlement.

Gibson is understood to be earning around £45,000-a-week with Burnley, whereas Boro are looking to offer wages in the region of £12-15,000-a-week to the players they are looking to recruit this summer. As a result, any move for Gibson would require Burnley to continue paying up to three-quarters of the defender’s salary next season.

Norwich are able to pay a much higher proportion of Gibson’s wages as they will receive a £40m parachute payment in the wake of their relegation from the top-flight and are also set to cash in on in-demand midfielder Todd Cantwell this summer.

The Canaries are understood to have discussed both a permanent and loan move for Gibson, and are ready to meet Burnley’s demands in order to push through a deal in the next couple of weeks.

Ideally, Gibson would like to return to his native Teesside, having enjoyed being back in the North-East in the last few months. Neil Warnock has discussed the defender’s position with the rest of Boro’s recruitment team, and is happy to agree to a loan deal if it can be arranged.

However, there is a growing acceptance that Gibson is likely to be heading elsewhere this summer, with Carrow Road now firmly established as his likeliest destination.

Having been frustrated in his attempts to make a signing last week, Warnock is determined to push through another couple of deals before Boro’s players return to full training at the start of next week.

He remains hopeful of persuading Kieffer Moore to move to Teesside despite competing interest in the forward from Cardiff City, and continues to talk to the Bluebirds about winger Junior Hoilett. Centre-half Charlie Goode remains a target, although Boro have not yet agreed a fee with Northampton Town for their skipper.

There are likely to be a number of departures from the Riverside this summer, and Blackburn Rovers have registered an interest in Aynsley Pears.

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray is in the market for a goalkeeper as he currently only has one senior shot-stopper on the books, and his Teesside links mean he was monitoring Pears’ development long before the youngster broke into the senior ranks under Jonathan Woodgate at the start of last season.

Pears was Boro’s first-choice goalkeeper for most of last season, although Woodgate dropped him for Dejan Stojanovic shortly before his Middlesbrough reign came to an end and Warnock only recalled the academy product to the side for two of his eight matches in charge.

The Boro boss is expected to sign a new goalkeeper of his own this summer, and Pears could be deemed to be expendable.

Boro’s players were back at Rockliffe today, with head of sports science Frances Hunter putting them through their paces.

Marc Bola and Marcus Browne have returned to the first-team group, having completed loan spells at Blackpool and Oxford United respectively.