According to the Birmingham Mail, Ryan Shotton is close to completing a move from Birmingham City to Middlesbrough.

Birmingham and Boro have had a fee agreed for Shotton for a number of weeks now, but Harry Redknapp has been reluctant to lose the defender until a replacement was found.

However, Birmingham are edging closer to the signing of Harlee Dean, after Brentford accepted the Blues’ £2m bid for the player, which is likely to lead to Shotton’s eventual exit from St Andrew’s.

Shotton has been with Birmingham permanently for little over 12-months, after the Blues moved to sign the defender last summer following a successful loan spell that saw the 28-year-old make nine appearances towards the end of the 2015/16 campaign.

Last year Shotton featured on 43 occasions in the Sky Bet Championship, helping Birmingham survive relegation to League One by the narrowest of margins.

The defender does not appear to feature in Redknapp’s plans for the current season and has made just two appearances so far this campaign for the Blues, with just one of those coming in the starting XI.

Shotton is now expected to link up with Garry Monk at the Riverside Stadium, where he will be competing with the likes of Ben Gibson and Daniel Ayala for a place in Boro’s defence.

The Verdict

Shotton’s move to Middlesbrough has taken some time, with Birmingham rightly delaying a deal until they had a replacement for the 28-year-old in place.

Whilst Aden Flint appeared to be Redknapp’s first choice, he will be pleased with the imminent arrival of Dean, which will allow Shotton to leave and move north to Middlesbrough.

Boro are getting their hands on a excellent Championship defender who will undoubtedly strengthen Monk’s defensive options for the current season.

Birmingham and Middlesbrough fans… Let us know your thoughts!