CHRISTIAN STUANI said his goodbyes at Espanyol’s training ground yesterday – and is set to complete his much-anticipated move to Middlesbrough before the start of next week.

Stuani is expected to link up with the rest of the Boro squad on Monday after the finer details of a deal worth around £3.2m was agreed with the Espanyol hierarchy.

Boro officials have been confident of completing a move for the Uruguay international for a number of weeks now, but the transfer could not be finalised until the striker returned from an extended break in the wake of this summer’s Copa America.

He has now returned to Spain, and after signing off on the technicalities of the move in the last 48 hours, the 28-year-old met his Espanyol team-mates for a final time yesterday morning.

He is still to receive a work permit, but that is not expected to present any problems given his 22 appearances for the Uruguayan national side.

He scored 12 La Liga goals for Espanyol last season, and his arrival represents a major boost to a Boro side that struggled in front of goal on a number of occasions as they narrowly missed out on a place in the Premier League last term.

Confirmation of Stuani’s transfer will be especially timely given Patrick Bamford’s decision to join Crystal Palace on a season-long loan, which was confirmed yesterday.

As predicted in The Northern Echo, Bamford moved to Selhurst Park after signing a new three-year contract with Chelsea, with the Eagles winning the battle to secure his services despite strong competition from a number of clubs, including Middlesbrough.

“Chelsea have been fantastic with my development, and joining Crystal Palace for this season on loan is the next step for me in my career,” said Bamford.

“I was quite keen to stay close to London this time, and Palace were actually my first choice, but I didn’t realise they were keen to start with. Then, when I met with the manager (Alan Pardew), he put forward his plans and it was an easy decision.”