Transfer gossip: Middlesbrough to rival Sunderland over £4m-rated Leeds United starlet

The defender – who is currently on loan at Championship club Millwall – has been linked with a move to Sunderland previously with the Black Cats thought to have a long-standing interest in the England youth teamer.

The first occasion came when Sunderland were still a League One club, with the Black Cats again tabling a bid for the England youth international last summer before signing Dan Ballard from Arsenal.

The 20-year-old Preston-born defender is set to spend the rest of the season out on loan at The Den. However, reports have suggested that Norwich City, Sunderland and now Middlesbrough are interested in signing Cresswell on a permanent deal.

There have also been rumours that Leeds United – Cresswell’s parent club – could recall their defender in January but Lions manager Gary Rowett recently stated he expects the player to remain with him for the remainder of the campaign.

Alan Nixon – a journalist for The Sun on Sunday – has today claimed that Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough are keen on a permanent deal for Cresswell, suggesting that a £4million fee “plus extras could work for both” sides.

The Black Cats could be in the market for a defender should Bailey Wright leave the club in January with the Australian international having been linked with a move to Aberdeen and Hibernian this week.

Sunderland faced Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon.