Manchester City's Zack Steffen is undergoing a medical as he closes in on a move to Middlesbrough.

The American international keeper was heavily linked with a move to Teesside earlier in the window, with the Premier League champions bringing in Stefan Ortega to be backup to current number one Ederson.

That opened the door for Steffen's departure, who is desperate for first-team football ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

And, it appears a switch to Boro is now at a very advanced stage, as The Athletic confirmed the stopper is currently having his medical before the deal is announced.

That will be a major coup for Chris Wilder, who was keen to strengthen his goalkeeping department after Joe Lumley and Luke Daniels both failed to convince in the previous campaign, with Lumley now at Reading.

Boro have already made a move to sign Liam Roberts from Northampton Town, although he is expected to go into the new season as backup to Steffen once this transfer is confirmed.

The verdict

This seems as though it will be a fantastic bit of business for Boro as they need a new keeper and Steffen is a major upgrade on what they have.

So, for him to be having a medical right now means the deal is all but done and that should please the Boro support.

Once it's over the line it will continue what has been a productive summer so far and Wilder will have a much stronger goalkeeping pair going into the campaign, which is what he wanted.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.