MIDDLESBROUGH are set to confirm the £500,000 signing of Doncaster Rovers left-back James Husband.

The Teessiders have agreed a fee with Rovers for the 20-year-old defender, and with personal terms also understood to have been finalised, the transfer could be confirmed ahead of Boro's pre-season friendly at Rochdale this afternoon.

Leeds-born Husband made his senior debut towards the end of the 2011-12 season and has gone on to make 62 senior league appearances for Doncaster.

He was linked with a move to Barnsley at the start of last week, but Boro opted to step up their previous interest in the last 48 hours and have successfully been able to force through a deal.

Husband follows a path that was previously trodden by George Friend, with his fellow left-back also having moved from Doncaster to establish himself in Boro's first team.

Friend has attracted interest from a number of clubs this summer, but Husband has arrived to provide some much-needed competition in the left-back area rather than act as a potential replacement for Boro's current number one.