All eyes on Downing as Boro go into Euro action

MIDDLESBROUGH boss Steve McClaren has promised potential England international Stewart Downing will not get carried away with his new-found status.

The 20-year-old winger will take his blossoming talents on to the European stage tonight when Boro entertain Partizan Belgrade knowing victory will keep them at the top of Group E and guarantee a less taxing draw in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Downing could be forgiven for allowing all the publicity to get to him after being put on alert by Sven-Goran Eriksson for a senior England debut in February’s friendly against Holland following a blistering run of form.

Dutch full-back Michael Reiziger, who could conceivably line up against his club-mate in that game, has compared the youngster favourably to compatriots Marc Overmars and Arjen Robben.

McClaren’s experience at Manchester United of Alex Ferguson’s careful nurturing of young talent, which saw the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers eased through the early years of their careers, could be invaluable.

But he insists Downing is doing a good enough job of keeping his own feet on the ground. Downing and his team-mates have already assured themselves of UEFA Cup qualification, along with Villarreal and tonight’s opponents, and that means Italian giants Lazio, who lost 2-0 at the Riverside, are out. That in itself is a major achievement, but Boro are not satisfied just yet.

“When the draw was made I thought it was the toughest group of them all and so it has proved,” said McClaren.

Meanwhile, Rangers defender Jean-Alain Boumsong yesterday said he would consider a move to Newcastle should Graeme Souness launch a January bid to take him to St James’s Park. At the same time he recommended former Auxerre team-mate Teemu Tainio as an ideal signing for Rangers.

But it was Boumsong’s assertion that he would be interested in moving south to join Newcastle which stood out and will be met with approval on Tyneside but some dismay among the Ibrox faithful. Boumsong’s future remains unclear despite signing a five-year deal when joining in the summer from Auxerre, who visit Ibrox in the UEFA Cup tonight.

A number of English clubs have already made it clear they would like to sign him with Newcastle manager Graeme Souness very keen.

Any more talk of Boumsong’s future must wait until after tonight’s UEFA Cup tie against Auxerre, with Alex McLeish’s Rangers just a point away from securing a place in the knockout stages. The French team, under pressure to win to safeguard their passage, lost Boumsong to Rangers in the summer when his contract expired.

Finland international Tainio will soon be in a similar position and Boumsong was in no doubt as to his qualities.

Two players who are all but certain of joining next month are Manchester United midfielder Bojan Djordjic and Finnish defender Jukka Santala. United are set to release the Swede Djordjic, who originally hails from Serbia.