Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has confirmed the club have rejected an offer for Afonso Alves, while he has also revealed he is yet to receive any bids for Turkey international Tuncay Sanli.

Strike duo Alves and Tuncay are widely expected to follow Stewart Downing, who completed his £12million move to Aston Villa last week, out of the exit door at the Riverside this summer following Boro's relegation from the Premier League last season.

Alves, 28, was a club record signing when he arrived from Dutch side Heerenveen in 2008 for a fee in excess of £12million, but the Brazilian has struggled to make his mark in Teeside - netting just 10 league goals in 42 games.

The former Malmo FF hitman, who is rumoured to be a target for Portuguese giants Benfica, is understood to have been the subject of a £3million bid from an unnamed club in the United Arab Emirates, but Southgate says the offer fell well blow the club's valuation of the player.

"We've had a bid for Afonso, but it wasn't something we deemed to be acceptable," said Southgate in the Northern Echo. "To be honest, it wasn't anywhere near what we would accept."

Meanwhile, Southgate insists that the Championship outfit have received no bids for highly-rated Tuncay despite reported interest from a host of clubs in England and on the continent, including Liverpool and Aston Villa.

"We haven't had a bid for Tuncay, but we're waiting to see what happens," Southgate added.

"We're assuming that he'll move on, but nothing is guaranteed."