MIDDLESBROUGH are hoping to complete their second signing of the summer in the next 24 hours after agreeing a deal for Troyes midfielder Abdoulaye Kante.
According to reports, Kante traveled to England to finalize the details of his transfer to Teesside and finish a physical. He will become Boro’s second summer acquisition after Alfie Jones, who came from Hull.
Troyes, a member of the City Football Group of clubs that also includes Manchester City, and Boro have reached an agreement for about €3 million. Once the details of the transfer’s payment were agreed upon, Boro was allowed to complete the transaction.
After playing for Troyes in the French second division the previous season, Kante, a 20-year-old defensive midfielder, was eager to travel to England and test himself in the Championship.
Kante, who was born in Ivory Coast, progressed through the French club Montfermil’s junior system before joining Troyes’ youth setup in the summer of 2022.
He was quickly promoted to the senior squad of the Ligue 2 team and was a mainstay in Troyes’ first team during their tenth-place finish in the French second level the previous season.
Kante has five senior appearances in the Coupe de France and has made 47 appearances in Ligue 2, scoring one goal.
His presence will strengthen Boro’s defensive-midfield ranks, which have been weakened since former club captain Jonny Howson left. He is an Ivorian Under-23 international.
Howson, 37, was confirmed to be leaving last week to take a player-coach position with Leeds United Under-21s.
The continued ambiguity surrounding Hayden Hackney’s future, who has received a formal offer from Ipswich Town, has nothing to do with Kante’s signing.
Although Ipswich’s bid, estimated to have been around £20 million, fell short of Boro’s demands, the two teams are still in communication, with Ipswich executives allegedly drafting a new strategy.
If Hackney were to leave his hometown team this summer, he would prefer not to stay in the Championship, despite having previously drawn interest from Crystal Palace, Everton, and Stuttgart.
But according to reports, Ipswich is prepared to pay him about £35,000 per week at Portman Road, which would be a substantial rise over his current salary with Boro.
After Sam Morsy, a former Boro midfielder, left to join Kuwait SC earlier this summer, Ipswich is eager to bolster its central-midfield ranks.
The future of Boro center-half Rav van den Berg is also still up in the air; this summer, German team FC Koln and Dutch team Feyenoord expressed interest in him.
Boro has not reached a deal with Koln and turned down two offers from Feyenoord, but there seems to be growing continental interest.
Van den Berg, who has two years left on his current Boro deal, was forced to miss last weekend’s friendly tie against Rangers due to a back spasm that occurred during the warm-up.
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