Middlesbrough are close to winning the race for 27-year-old Matt Crooks this summer with the Rotherham United player set for a medical with the Teesside club later today ahead of a move, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

Crooks enjoyed a fine season last year for the Millers in the Sky Bet Championship as he helped them take their fight for survival right down to the wire.

A drop into League One was their fate, however, and it soon became apparent that Crooks was a wanted man on the back of that.

The likes of Ipswich Town have been interested in signing him in this window, too, with them seeing bids rejected in recent weeks, and it now looks as though the Tractor Boys are going to miss out on one of their summer targets with Boro at the head of the queue.

Football League World can reveal that Crooks is due for a medical today for Middlesbrough and, should that all go well, a deal to join the Teessiders from the Millers should be announced in the near future.

It's a chance for Crooks to get straight back into the Championship, then, and he'll be eager to help Boro challenge for the top six under Neil Warnock this season coming.