Downing has told the Boro chiefs to match his ambition or else he will consider a future away from his hometown club.
The lengthy negotiations are becoming a problem for the 22-year-old, who is keen to resolve the situation and concentrate all his effort on his performances.
"If it keep dragging on it will be a problem," he told the Daily Mirror. "I don't want it to become a problem. What we are trying to do is reasonable.
"I have two years left after this. We have been in negotiations quite a long time so it has been dragging a bit. I have asked the club to move on and I want it out of the way.
"I was honest with (chief executive) Keith Lamb and I told him the club has to move forward. We have to build.
"Now I will leave it to my agent and I will concentrate on football. If I don't it will play on my mind and then you lose focus which can affect the team and that can't happen."