Boro keen to get Mido into shape

The 24-year-old was having his medical at Boro's Rockliffe Park training ground today after the two clubs agreed the finer details of the transfer.

There were still one or two personal matters to be sorted out, but Boro expect to complete the signing by tomorrow evening and will then apply for a work permit.

Gareth Southgate said: "I don't like to say too much until the ink is dry on the contract but Mido will bring different attributes to our squad.

"He's an experienced player and he will add more quality and increase our attacking options.

"However we know that he will be lacking in match-fitness because he has not taken part in Tottenham's pre-season matches.

"So the first thing we will do is assess him, and then we will take it from there."

Boro, who entered the chase early last week, having beaten off the challenges of both Birmingham and neighbours Sunderland for Mido's signature.

Mido's move to St Andrews collapsed earlier this summer with Blues boss Steve Bruce claiming the player's insistence upon various contractual clauses prompted the breakdown.

Sunderland then appeared to be favourites, but Mido indicated towards the end of last week that his preferred destination would be Teesside.

There were fresh problems with the agreed deal over the weekend, but Boro successfully renegotiated it in order to satisfy Spurs' revised requirements.

The fee is apparently unchanged at £6million.

Southgate added: "All the talks have been very positive and I don't see the medical being too much of a problem for him.

"We won't take the risk of putting him in too early considering his lack of football, but we are a little short on numbers at the moment and the sooner he is ready the better."

Mido will not travel for tomorrow might's Premier League game at Wigan, while it is unlikely that Mido will make his debut for Boro at Fulham on Saturday.

However Southgate is likely to pencil the Egyptian into his squad for the north-east derby against Newcastle at the Riverside Stadium on August 26.

Mido's arrival on Teesside will fuel speculation over Ayegbeni Yakubu's future with the club.

The Nigerian striker has attracted strong interest from his former club Portsmouth, plus Manchester City, Everton and West Ham during the summer.

Everton and West Ham are believed to have maintained this interest and both could lodge offers of £10million to try to test Boro's resolve.

Southgate has again indicated that Yakubu is going nowhere, saying: "I thought he had a very good game for us against Blackburn on Saturday.

"We want to keep our best players and the arrival of Mido means that we have four players fighting for two places up front, all of whom give us different options."

Yakubu will be leading the Boro attack at the JJB Stadium, where his striking partner will be Jeremie Aliadiere.

Southgate can also call on South Korea international Dong-Gook Lee, who is yet to make a significant impression at the Riverside since joining the club in January.

Boro and Wigan are both bidding to open their accounts this season after losing their opening-day games.

Southgate is hoping the injection of pace from new signings Aliadiere and Tuncay Sanli will give Boro a greater attacking threat.

The Boro manager has announced an unchanged squad, with his third new signing of the summer, Luke Young, again being ruled out.

Young, a £2.5million signing from Charlton, suffered a thigh strain in training last week.