Middlesbrough have agreed to trade midfielder Abdoulaye Kante to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq for £3 million, according to GMS sources.

The 21-year-old started Middlesbrough’s opening-day win over Lincoln City, playing 63 minutes, but he has not appeared in a Championship game since and was left out of the team for Saturday’s triumph against West Bromwich Albion at the Riverside Stadium.

The youngster is now on the verge of making a permanent relocation to Saudi Arabia, with a contract that runs until 2030.

Borough will maintain a sell-on clause for the Ivory Coast U23 international, who joined the club from Troyes in France just a year ago.

Kante joins Saint-Etienne on loan for the remainder of the 2025-26 season after appearing in only 143 minutes for the Teessiders last season.

Kante will join former Celtic defender Jack Hendry and former Fulham and Celtic attacker Moussa Dembele at Al-Ettifaq.

Borough hired American midfielder Sebastian Berhalter to strengthen Kim Hellberg’s engine room after losing Hayden Hackney to Everton this summer, yet the 25-year-old came on as a second-half replacement against the Baggies.

Myles Pearl-Harris and Aidan Morris teamed in midfield against James Morrison’s side, as Borough recovered from a dismal setback to Blackburn Rovers to earn three points and climb to fifth place in the league.

According to James Beavis, Middlesbrough are serious promotion contenders.

Following the disappointment of the Spygate affair and their loss in the play-off final to Hull City, Middlesbrough are in a solid position to improve and finish in the top two of the Championship this season.

Borough spent a lot of money during the summer transfer window, adding Will Lankshear, Ashley Phillips, Radek Vitek, and Max Arfsten to their team, and they have six points out of a possible nine so far.

While they are a point behind automatic promotion favourites Wolves, Kim Hellberg’s side is ahead of West Ham United, Burnley, Southampton, and Wrexham in the standings, despite their defeat at Ewood Park last weekend.

Lankshear, in particular, appears to be an inspired addition, since he is the Championship’s joint-top goalscorer with four in three games, matching Cyle Larin for Saints.

Borough will be hoping for two more positive results when they face Burnley and QPR on the road this week.