Middlesbrough closing in on David Strelec, Slovan Bratislava transfer agreement | OneFootball

Rob Edwards is expected to land his long-term target at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough are closing in on an agreement which would finally put an end to the long-standing transfer saga involving David Strelec of Slovan Bratislava.

That is according to a report from Teesside Live on the morning of 'Deadline Day', with the Teessiders expected to land their long-term target before the 7pm cut-off point for business in the Championship.

The North East side have been one of the second-tier's most active clubs as they undergo a transformation under Rob Edwards, one which is clearly paying dividends thus far as Boro remain the only club in the division with a 100 per cent record heading into the international break, with a 1-0 success over Sheffield United at the Riverside Stadium making it four wins from four.

Much of the recent discourse surrounding Middlesbrough in recent days has been the potential whereabouts of Hayden Hackney by the time the window slams shut on Monday night, with the England Under-21 international continuing to be the subject of major Premier League interest, with Football League World exclusively revealing that Wolverhampton Wanderers had submitted a £20m + £10m in potential add-ons for the midfielder.

However, the feel-good factor at the Riverside is set to continue, with Boro finally set to bolster their already-impressive attacking options with the capture of the Slovakian forward.

The Reds' interest in the 24-year-old can be traced back to January during the final window of Michael Carrick's tenure, with it subsequently being reported that Strelec turned down a move to England as a result of Slovan Bratislava's UEFA Champions League exploits at the time.

Despite Steve Gibson's decision to replace Carrick with Edwards after Boro missed out on the play-off places last season, the club's interest in the 30-time Slovakian international resurfaced last month, with Strelec's father confirming interest from the Championship club and SPFL giants, Celtic.

“As far as I know, several clubs are still interested, including Celtic and Middlesbrough," he said via Slovakian outlet, Sport.

“We know that both clubs have made offers in the past.”

Amid claims that both the Scottish champions and Boro had lodged equal offers of £9m which were rejected by Bratislava eight months ago, it has now been reported by Teesside Live that Strelec is set for the second-tier's early leaders ahead of the transfer deadline.

The report states that Middlesbrough have taken advantage of Strelec's current employers' early exit from the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, losing to Kairat and BSC Young Boys in the respective competitions.

It has been claimed that Strelec travelled to the North East on Sunday night to complete the deal's formalities after being omitted from Bratislava's squad for their 3-2 home victory over FC Kosice, with Middlesbrough confident that the deal will be completed imminently.

As previously mentioned, Edwards has an array of talented attacking options already at his disposal that have contributed greatly to Boro's perfect start, and the capture of Strelec would only boost the club's overall promotion aims.

A record of 62 goals and 28 assists in 170 appearances showcases his ability to bring teammates into play as well as his individual goalscoring nous and top-flight potential, which supporters hope will come in a few months' time after setting the early pace in the Championship.

It is clear that bolstering Boro's front-line was a must for Edwards, who also recently completed the signing of Kaly Sene from Lausanne-Sport.

He and Strelec will immediately be jostling for a starting berth alongside Tommy Conway, who has backed up his 13-goal haul last season with two goals in the current campaign's opening month.