Middlesbrough have completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper Dejan Stojanovic from St Gallen, the Championship side have confirmed.

Stojanovic made 79 appearances in all competitions for the Swiss side after joining from Bologna in the summer of 2016, but his time with the club has now come to an end.

The 26-year-old has now put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year deal with Middlesbrough, which is set to keep him at the Riverside Stadium until the summer of 2023.

While there is no mention of any fee Middlesbrough may have paid for Stojanovic in the official announcement, it had been reported previously that a fee of around £1million had been agreed for the goalkeeper.

The recruitment of Stojanovic comes just a day after 'Boro's first-choice stopper, Darren Randolph had left the club to rejoin Premier League side West Ham for the second time in his career.

Speaking to Middlesbrough's official website following confirmation of the signing of Stojanovic, 'Boro manager Jonathan Woodgate said: “We’re delighted to be able to sign Dejan. With Darren joining West Ham it was important that we added competition for the goalkeepers who are here.”

Stojanovic joins Middlesbrough with the club currently 16th in the Championship standings, after four wins in their last five games going into their clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Friday night.

The Verdict

This looks to be a useful signing for Middlesbrough.

Having lost Randolph earlier this week, it always felt as though they were going to need to add a goalkeeper to their ranks in order to fulfil that void, and the fact they have moved quickly to do that does reflect well on the work being done behind the scenes at the Riverside.

However, with Aynsley Pears having impressed with Randolph out through injury in the past few months, it will be interesting to see if Stojanovic is able to walk straight into the starting lineup at 'Boro, or if he is forced to wait his turn behind the 21-year-old.