Premier League new boys Middlesbrough have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo.
Gazzette Live reportthat the Valencia striker is due in England over the next few days to complete the deal, which is believed to be an initial one-year loan.
Middlesbrough have also signed former Barcelona and Manchester United goalkeeperVictor Valdes and Ajax attacking midfielderViktor Fischer, and will now add some well-needed Premier League firepower up front with the signing of Negredo, who scored 23 goals in 48 appearances during his only season in England with Manchester City, with nine of those strikes coming in the Premier League.
Negredo, 30, left City after winning the Premier League and the League Cup due to UEFA Financial Fair Play rules required the Etihad club to streamline their squad. He subsequently joined Valencia on loan, making the move permanent a year later, and scored 10 league goals in his two campaigns with the Spanish club.
And while Negredo is thought to be on a complex pay package, Middlesbrough and Valencia have reportedly reached a compromise which will enable the Premier League club to sign the Spaniard without paying through the nose in order to acquire his services.
Middlesbrough have also agreed a deal for Negredo's Valencia teammate Antonio Barragan, who is on his way to Teeside for a medical.
Middlesbrough are competing in the Premier League for the first time since the 2008-09 season, and won promotion back to England's best division when they finished second in the Championship after drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion on the final day of last season.