GASTON RAMIREZ is edging closer to the Middlesbrough exit door, with Spanish side Real Betis having stepped up their pursuit of the Uruguayan midfielder.

Ramirez was handed something of a lifeline earlier this summer when Boro boss Garry Monk restored him to his first-team group, and the 26-year-old has featured prominently in the Teessiders’ pre-season games.

However, the reprieve was only ever intended to be a temporary one, with the Boro hierarchy remaining keen to move on Ramirez after being less than impressed with his attitude in the second half of last season.

Ramirez’s submission of a formal transfer request was followed by a petulant dismissal in a crucial defeat at Bournemouth, and Boro are confident of securing a significant sum for a player who signed a three-year deal when he made a permanent move to Teesside last summer.

Boro officials have fielded a number of inquiries about Ramirez this summer, with Portuguese side Benfica and German club Freiburg both having been keen to set up a deal.

However, Real Betis have always been at the front of the queue of clubs jockeying for Ramirez’s signature, and the South American’s agent, Pablo Bentancur is increasingly confident that a deal is close, despite his client having been training at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground this week.

“Gaston must leave Middlesbrough, I’m convinced of it,” said Bentancur. “I cannot confirm a deal was done with Betis, maybe with another team, although they are in a strong position.

“Teams came promptly to ask for Gaston, and those names are in the public domain, Benfica and Sporting (Lisbon) are both interested, with Freiburg too.”

Ramirez is not the only Boro player who has been deemed surplus to requirements this summer, as Stewart Downing has also been told he is free to seek alternative employers.

Birmingham City held talks with the former England international earlier this month, but Harry Redknapp admitted Downing’s wages were posing a problem.

However, the Blues have kick-started discussions, and are increasingly confident of being able to come to a compromise agreement that will enable them to sign Downing before the start of the Championship season.

Downing has been the subject of interest from Spain and the United States, but is keen to remain in England for the latter stages of his career.

Boro have been linked with Lithuanian forward Fedor Cernych in the last 24 hours, but the Teessiders do not have any interest in the €1m-rated striker, who plays his club football in Poland with Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Meanwhile, Darren Randolph has admitted he moved to Middlesbrough because he was not prepared to spend a season sitting on the substitutes’ bench at West Ham.

Randolph joined Boro in a £5m move from the Hammers at the end of last week, and is set to start the new season ahead of Dimi Konstantopoulos in the goalkeeping pecking order at the Riverside.

He is determined to retain his place in the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of next year’s World Cup finals, and feared being dropped had he remained at West Ham’s London Stadium playing understudy to Joe Hart.

“I wasn’t going to hang around and warm the bench,” said Randolph. “It’s a World Cup year, the Republic of Ireland have a good position in the group, and if I have any kind of dreams to play in the World Cup, then I need to be playing games.”