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Middlesbrough have rejected a £6m Leeds United bid for striker Rudy Gestede - and will not encourage any further offers, The Gazette understands.

Reports of a mooted move were circulating earlier today, and Boro sources said at that stage claimed there had been no contact and they were not willing to sell the striker should any approach be made.

Boro insiders have confirmed to The Gazette that the Championship side lodged a formal bid this afternoon, but the club have rejected it outright - insisting they are not minded to sell the in-form striker.

Leeds are striker-light after main man Chris Wood completed his big money move across the Pennines to Premier League outfit Burnley in a £15m Turf Moor record switch.

Strapping New Zealand attacker Wood, last season’s Championship top scorer with 27 goals, notched 44 in 88 appearances in West Yorkshire after joining Leeds from Leicester in July 2015, and leaves the team with a massive hole up front.

And the suggestions are that Boro’s physical frontman Gestede is the man they want to fill it.

(Image: Griffiths Photographers)

Victor Orta was Boro’s head of recruitment when Gestede arrived for a reported£6m from Aston Villa in January, and the Spaniard is now pulling the transfer strings at Elland Road - so it is an easy link to make.

Sources close to Leeds say the interest is genuine, and the striker’s skillset ticks all the boxes.

However, Leeds will get no encouragement from Boro bosses, who are keen to keep the player at the Riverside.

In the summer, penalty box battler Gestede may well have been seen as surplus at Boro after struggling to make an impact in the top flight relegation campaign and being pushed down the pecking order by big money summer signings.

But the towering target man has been a key figure in Garry Monk’s new-look front end in the opening games this season, after an injury to Danish summer signing Martin Braithwaite opened the door.

His physical strength, aerial prowess and workrate have helped him link up well with new boy Britt Assombalonga, and the wily movement of Patrick Bamford and adds to the gaffer’s tactical options.

And the word from inside the Riverside is that Boro are in no mood to entertain any hostile approach.