Middlesbrough have agreed a deal to sign Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan, as per a report from Football Insider. 

The 28-year-old, who was set to be a free agent at the end of the month, has reportedly penned down a four-year deal at the Riverside Stadium. 

The competitive defender joined Rovers a decade ago from Irish club Belvedere, with the experienced defender going on to feature over 250 times for the Lancashire outfit since his 2012 arrival. 

Proving to be one of the club's top performers last season, Lenihan featured in 41 out of the 46 Championship games, captaining his side on many occasions too. 

Lenihan has been the subject to a lot of interest during the closing stages of last season and into this summer, with Middlesbrough appearing to have won this particular race. 

The verdict 

This seems to be an excellent coup for Chris Wilder and his Middlesbrough side as they try to mount an automatic push next season. 

A fierce dominant defender who plays with excellent levels of intelligence, Lenihan will bolster the competition levels within Boro's backline massively, whilst he is also someone that has continued to improve as a ball carrier. 

Also possessing a good range of passing, he is someone that will be pushing for regular inclusion next season at the Riverside Stadium, with competition levels already at a seeming high. 

Although it has been a likely outcome, this will still come as a big blow for Rovers, who have seen Lenihan as part of their backline for many years, although they do have some strong, more youthful options to call upon.