Hamburg coach Martin Jol, who coached Mido at Tottenham Hotspur, wants to reunite with the 25-year-old, the English paper said.

The German club have the financial muscle to meet Middlesbrough's valuation of the player after selling Rafael van der Vaart to Real Madrid for £12 million.

However, it is highly unlikely that Boro would offload Mido as coach Gareth Southgate rates him as one of the indispensible members of the team's squad.

Mido, whose first season at the Riverside was blighted by a succession of injuries, has been working on improving his fitness levels during the summer.

He said more than once that he was keen to approach the new season in the best possible way.