The Egyptian midfielder was recently quoted as saying that he would not see out his deal with the English Premier League club.

Shawky seemingly seeks to play more first-team football as he has been mainly used as a substitute since joining Middlesbrough from Ahli in the summer of 2007.

"He's got 18 months of his contract left and like all players, if they're not playing much first team football they have the opinion to move on," Southgate told Boro's website

"I've spoken to him and his representative and as usual there are elements of the story that are true and elements that are not true. But it's a not a big concern to me to be honest."

Shawky's last appearance this season came in Middlesbrough's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on January 28th.

The 27-year-old said lately he hoped other English clubs would be interested in signing him next summer.