PORTSMOUTH boss Alain Perrin has all but confirmed that striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu will be joining Middlesbrough this summer.

The Nigeria international was one of Steve McClaren's main transfer targets 12 months ago but, after preliminary discussions with the south coast club hit a hitch, the Boro boss opted to sign Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka instead.

The former's 15 goals make him a qualified success this season, but the latter's four months on the sidelines have prompted McClaren to look at alternatives for next season.

Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric confirmed that there had been further dialogue between the two clubs in March, but remained confident that Yakubu would remain at Fratton Park.

That now looks extremely unlikely and, while McClaren has described reports linking him with the 22-year-old as "pure speculation", Perrin has suggested that the striker's future has already been decided.

Yakubu will play in Portsmouth's final game of the season at West Bromwich Albion next weekend, before completing a £6.5m move to Teesside later this month.

"We have had an offer from a club in the north of England," confirmed Perrin, who had hoped to persuade Yakubu to change his mind by revealing his own summer spending plans.

"I would like to keep him, but maybe he has other plans. He has a contract with us (for two years) but, if a player wants to go, it is very difficult to stop him against his will.

"We will talk to him again (later this week). Then, after that, we will see what we can do.

"If he leaves the club we will get a transfer fee, but if we lose this money perhaps we can get in some loans. Either way, we have to be ready for the new season and I will make sure we are."

Yakubu will not be the last of Boro's big money summer signings, as McClaren looks to cement his side's place in the upper echelons of the Premiership.

Middlesbrough officials have been in talks with their counterparts at Inter Milan this month in an attempt to secure the signature of Andy Van der Meyde.

The Dutch winger is another long-standing transfer target, with McClaren having made tentative enquiries about his availability during the January transfer window.

His advances were rebuffed at that stage but, with Van der Meyde having struggled to hold down a place at the San Siro following his £7m move from Ajax, the Inter board are ready to cut their losses on the 25-year-old.

McClaren is also hopeful of capturing Juventus defender Igor Tudor when his current loan deal at Siena expires at the end of the current campaign.

Echo Sport revealed that the Boro boss had travelled to Italy to watch Tudor in action last month, and the steely centre-half remains at the top of his summer wish list.

Meanwhile, Manchester City midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips insists his side are ready to wreck Boro's European dreams at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday.

The England international, who has been sidelined for six weeks after a knee operation, looked back to his best on Saturday as he waltzed his way past four defenders before scoring his side's opener in their 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

That success set up a UEFA Cup cliffhanger this weekend, with Boro needing to take at least a point from Eastlands to qualify for Europe for the second season in a row.

"I am feeling sharp again and we cannot wait for this weekend's game," roared Wright-Phillips. "The spirit in this side is incredible, as good as I have known it at the club, and we want to use that to our advantage.

"We were without two of our best players in Robbie Fowler and Richard Dunne at Villa, but we managed to overcome that and the players who came in did fantastically well.

"That is a great signal of the mood the squad is in. We haven't lost for a long time and we like the winning feeling."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.