MIDDLESBROUGH expect to learn whether their pursuit of Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu has been successful in the next couple of days.

Boro officials have held a number of discussions with Ruddock Mpanzu and his representatives, and have offered the 27-year-old a move to Teesside following the end of his previous contract at Luton Town.

Luton have offered the midfielder a new deal at Kenilworth Road, while Blackburn Rovers are also understood to have tabled a contract offer.

Yesterday, Turkish side Hatayspor were also linked with a move for Ruddock Mpanzu, who spent time in West Ham United’s youth system before joining Luton in November 2013.

However, the midfielder is expected to remain in England, with Neil Warnock anticipating a final decision over his future this week.

Warnock is overseeing a major restructure of his Middlesbrough squad, and has agreed a deal for Argentinian midfielder Martin Payero, who is expected to complete his move to Teesside after representing his nation at the Olympics in Tokyo.

However, with George Saville having left to rejoin Millwall, and with major question marks over the future of Lewis Wing, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Rotherham, Warnock still finds himself with midfield gaps to fill.

Ruddock Mpanzu, a DR Congo international, has made more than 250 senior appearances for Luton over the course of the last seven seasons.

Pictures emerged on social media yesterday showing Ruddock Mpanzu socialising with Boro midfielder Marcus Browne, who posted a message on Instagram saying: “Agent Browne hard at work.”

Luton boss Nathan Jones remains hopeful of retaining Ruddock Mpanzu’s services, although speaking yesterday, he admitted a final decision was still to be made.

“Let’s just give that a few days and we’ll see where we are with everything, and any confirmation I can give you on anything of that, I’ll do that,” said Jones.

Boro start their pre-season tour of Cornwall with a game against Saltash United tomorrow evening, although it remains to be seen whether Marc Bola and Sammy Ameobi are involved in the week-long training break.

Bola had a hernia operation in the summer, while Ameobi has suffered a knock to his knee. The former Newcastle winger has also been serving a period of self-isolation after a close contact contracted Covid.