Middlesbrough striker Britt Assombalonga is close to landing a move to Scottish Premiership champions Rangers, per TEAMtalk.

There has been much interest in the 28-year-old striker, with the same source reporting that multiple Championship clubs, along with teams in Belgium and Germany have all shown an interest in Assombalonga.

But it's the Gers who have seemingly jumped the queue as Steven Gerrard looks set to bolster his squad in an attempt to not only defend the Premiership, but also take on Europe's elite in the Champions League.

Assombalonga hasn't had the best season for Boro, scoring just five goals and it's his first league campaign where he's failed to net double figures in since the 2015-16 season, where he spent most of the season on the sidelines.

But that may be because he's had his mind elsewhere and after making a £15 million move to the Riverside four years ago, Boro weren't prepared to offer him a new contract with the one he signed in 2017 expiring this summer.

Assombalonga officially leaves Middlesbrough on June 30, however Neil Warnock revealed this week that he had already essentially left the Teessiders and was not training with the club anymore.

And with international transfer rules allowing non-English clubs to offer pre-contract deals, Assombalonga is able to talk to clubs about his plans for next season - right now it looks like he's heading north of the border.

The Verdict

If Gerrard can revitalise Assombalonga then this could be a very smart signing.

He's a natural goalscorer but for whatever reason the 2020/21 campaign hasn't been kind to him - and maybe that's because he's known for a while that he wouldn't be at Boro next season.

Assombalonga probably isn't Champions League quality - a competition that Rangers will be desperate to get to at least the group stages of - but for the Scottish Premiership he would be a useful addition.