Football: Gascoigne seals pounds 3m Boro deal

PAUL GASCOIGNE returned to English football yesterday in a pounds 3m, three- and-a-half year deal with Middlesbrough that owed much to the persuasive powers of Paul Merson.

The transfer has yet to pass the hurdle of a medical, which could prove tricky as Gascoigne has a calf strain, a troublesome hamstring and a possible hernia problem. Should all go well, he could make his Boro debut in Sunday's Coca-Cola Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.

The 30-year-old Gascoigne was given the hard sell by Merson, who called the former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder to tell him how his move to the Teesside club from Arsenal had rejuvenated his game and lifted him back into the England team.

Gascoigne, who will miss out on Rangers' attempt to win a 10th successive Scottish Premier title, had previously stalled on the transfer, feeling he was being pushed out by the Scottish club's chairman, David Murray.

Gascoigne joined Rangers from Lazio in June 1995, but this season has seen him start only 16 games and his dwindling influence, through injury and suspension, may have persuaded Murray to let him go with two years still remaining on his contract.

Merson has settled well in Gascoigne's native North-east and has been a major influence on Boro's First Division promotion push, which currently sees them second, two points behind Nottingham Forest.

He will be ideal company for Gascoigne as he struggles to make England's World Cup squad and not just on the pitch. A difficult battle with drink, drugs and gambling has won Merson the respect of his fellow professionals, and Gascoigne, who has had his share of personal problems, will empathise with him.

Merson's intervention helped Bryan Robson beat off competition from Premiership strugglers Crystal Palace. "He's a great player and our fans will be really excited about watching him," Robson, the Boro manager, said. "Paul should give us that little extra in midfield, which should help us achieve the ambitions we are setting ourselves."

Gascoigne will join Boro in training today and have his medical "in the next few days". Whether he plays against Chelsea remains to be seen. "I've got to assess Gazza's fitness and see what he's done with Rangers," Robson said.

Gascoigne's advisor, Mel Stein, revealed that leaving Rangers was one of the toughest decisions his client has had to make in his career. "He is very, very sad to be leaving Rangers. It's an enormous wrench," Stein said. "Paul said to me `I've left clubs before, but I've never been so sad about leaving a club.' I don't think there will be a problem with his medical. He's probably a bit rusty, probably not quite match fit, although he is available for the Coca-Cola Cup final.

"His England ambitions remain as strong as ever. I'm not saying he wouldn't have been picked for the World Cup if he had stayed at Rangers, but clearly there is going to be a lot of competitive football in the weeks ahead for him."

Good news for Boro also came from Gianluca Festa. Described by Robson as "a model professional", the defender has signed a new five-year contract.

Damien Duff makes his eagerly awaited international debut tonight in one of European football's remotest spots when the Czech Republic play host to the Republic of Ireland in Olomouc. The 19-year-old Blackburn Rovers winger was the outstanding figure in the youth team's third-place finish in the World Under-18 championship last summer. The manager, Mick McCarthy, has picked one of the Republic's youngest teams. The Leeds defender Alan Maybury, also 19, makes his senior debut while Everton's Gareth Farrelly gets only his fourth cap at 22.