Wales international Neil Taylor is in talks over an extended deal at Middlesbrough

The 32-year-old defender signed a short-term contract last month and made his debut for the club in Saturday’s 1-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Bournemouth.

However, with Marc Bola facing up to eight weeks on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in training, the Teessiders are hopeful of retaining former Aston Villa full-back Taylor’s services.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Nottingham Forest, manager Chris Wilder said: “We’re in conversation with Neil as we speak.

“The professional that he is, he wants to get the games out of the way before they sit down, but I should imagine there are going to be no issues with that and Neil will be with us until the end of the season.

“He’s not been given his career, he’s had to work extremely hard for it. He started out at Wrexham in the Conference and obviously got his move to Swansea and has been outstanding for them.

“He’s played for his country and you have to tick a lot of boxes if you’re going to have the career that Neil’s had from where he’s come from, so there was never any doubt in terms of what his attitude would be like.

“He was patient – possibly it took him a little bit longer than he wanted to take, but these things happen – and he’s found a home and we’re delighted that he’s a Middlesbrough player. He brings a lot of attributes on and off the pitch to the group.”