FC Köln had a bid for the centre-half knocked back by Boro last week and the Bundesliga club are yet to return with an improved offer.
Feyenoord had two bids for van den Berg rejected at the end of last month, are now appear extremely unlikely to return with any further offers after completing the signing of Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic on Tuesday.
In any case, van den Berg is understood to have preferred a move to the Bundesliga.
But Boro have made clear to interested clubs they will only allow the 21-year-old to leave if their valuation is met.
Van den Berg missed Boro’s last three pre-season friendlies of the summer, pulling out of the Rangers game at the end of last month after suffering a back spasm in the warm-up.
But he’s now back in training at Rockliffe and is expected to be in contention to feature in Saturday’s Championship opener against Swansea City, unless there are any dramatic transfer developments in the coming days.
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Reports in Germany at the start of this week claimed FC Köln remain interested in van den Berg, but Boro haven’t yet received an improved offer from the Bundesliga club after last week’s bid was rejected.
Besiktas have been linked, while Crystal Palace have again been mentioned in recent days. Van den Berg has been on Palace’s radar throughout the summer and the Premier League club watched the centre-half at the European Under-21 Championships, but he’s always been an option for the Eagles rather than a leading target.
With van den Berg having missed a bulk of the summer friendlies, boss Rob Edwards must decide whether to hand the Dutchman a start on Saturday, providing there are no developments between now and then, or go with a back three of Alfie Jones, Dael Fry and Neto Borges. Darragh Lenihan is injured.
Boro made their third signing of the summer on Monday when Callum Brittain completed his move from Blackburn, but the Championship club remain in the market for at least a couple more additions before the end of the window. They want a striker, a left wing-back and, ideally, another forward.
If van den Berg was to move on this summer, that would obviously boost Boro’s transfer budget. Hayden Hackney was expected to leave earlier in the window, but the Teessider last week rejected a move to Ipswich, who, as things stand, are the only club to have made a formal offer for the midfielder.
