Middlesbrough expect Rovers to return with an improved offer for goalkeeper Aynsley Pears.

Rovers saw a bid of £200,000 turned down last week by Boro who are holding out for closer to double that figure for the 22-year-old.

Pears is in to the final year of his deal at the Riverside and talks over a new deal have stalled, with Rovers keen to take advantage of the situation by making their move.

The club are looking to add another goalkeeper to their ranks this summer to challenge first-choice stopper Thomas Kaminski who arrived from AA Gent last month for an undisclosed fee.

Another goalkeeping option would allow Andrew Fisher to gain experience on loan having been on the bench for the weekend defeat at Bournemouth.

Boro themselves have brought in a new goalkeeper this summer, signing Marcus Bettinello from Fulham which should free Pears, who made 22 appearances last season, to move on.

And boss Warnock said in his midweek press conferece: “It doesn’t surprise me, I think they’ve always been looking at Aynsley so you’d expect not just Blackburn, maybe one or two others to come in now that we’ve signed a keeper."

Rovers had been expected to bring in a free agent to challenge with Kaminski, with David Cornell having been on their radar in January, and subsequently became a free agent this summer.

However, he opted to join Ipswich Town, while no contact has been made with Rob Elliot, his name mooted having become a free agent following his release by Newcastle United.

But it now appears that another permanent goalkeeper could be brought in, something Mowbray previously hinted at last summer when Rovers looked to replace David Raya with two full-time goalkeepers.

Pears is the son of former Boro goalkeeper Stephen who played alongside Mowbray during their playing days.

The Boro Academy graduate was on the bench for Boro’s opening two matches, but is likely to drop out of the squad for tonight’s Carabao Cup tie with Barnsley should Dejan Stojanovic recover from the illness that saw him miss out against Watford on Friday.

His prospects of first-team football appear limited, with Warnock saying last week: “They’ve got to fight for their place, haven’t they. Marcus is an excellent keeper. The gloves are in his hands at the moment, and it’s hard to see him being displaced.”

The goalkeeping situation at Rovers has been a complicated one within the last year, with Raya sold to Brentford for £3m, though a sell-on clause is included in that deal which could see them pocket a percentage of any deal should the Spaniard leave the Bees this summer.

Rovers were in the market for two new goalkeepers this summer after Christian Walton returned to parent club Brighton, while Jayson Leutwiler was released after three years at the club.

He has since joined Fleetwood Town on a one-year deal.