CELTIC last night won the race to sign Middlesbrough target Scott Brown.

Boro had been confident of landing the Hibernian playmaker but the emergence of the Scottish champions proved too tempting for the Scotland international.

Middlesbrough have been interested in Brown for much of the campaign, with scouts regularly at Easter Road tracking the player's potential.

But Celtic offered £4.4m for Brown's services and that proved enough be granted permission to open talks with the youngster - leaving Southgate frustrated.

Agent Willie McKay confirmed that Boro had lost out, with Brown undergoing a medical yesterday afternoon.

McKay said: "It's a fantastic move for Scott. He is going to a very big club, who will be playing in the Champions League next year. Scott and his family are delighted he is going to Celtic. There were a host of clubs after Scott and some English clubs offered more money. But Celtic ticked all the boxes for Hibs and for his personal terms."

With Reading's Steve Sidwell on the verge of moving to Chelsea and plenty of clubs tracking bad-boy Joey Barton at Manchester City, Boro are having to reassess their options.

The central midfield area is a cause for concern for Southgate, who is also looking to bring in a right-midfielder and a right-back, plus one striker at least.

Reading's Seol Ki-Hyeon - an international team-mate of Dong Gook Lee - has been considered as a possible target to fill the right side.