MIDDLESBROUGH have moved on to alternative winger targets after receiving an indication that Mitchell van Bergen is set to join Stade de Reims rather than swap Heerenveen for Teesside.

Boro officials had agreed a deal for van Bergen with the Heerenveen hierarchy, and were confident of tying up a transfer ahead of next Tuesday’s deadline.

However, Stade de Reims moved in with an offer of their own, and van Bergen’s representatives have indicated that the 21-year-old would prefer to move to France’s Ligue 1 rather than join Boro in the Championship.

The development is a disappointment given the amount of work that Boro’s recruitment team have put into the proposed deal, but the Dutch youngster was only ever one of three wingers that have been under serious consideration in the last few weeks as Neil Warnock attempts to strengthen his squad.

There have been discussions with at least one of the other targets in the last 24 hours, with the Boro hierarchy still confident of completing a deal in the next few days.

There is a good chance the Teessiders will make at least three more signings before the transfer window closes on Tuesday night, with Andraz Sporar’s loan deal from Sporting Lisbon expected to be formally announced soon.

The complications that prevented the deal from being confirmed earlier this week are now understood to have been resolved, with Sporar set to join on a season-long loan from Sporting, with a view to a possible permanent deal next summer.

The 27-year-old has already completed a medical in Portugal, so it is not yet clear whether he will travel to England over the weekend or wait to link up with Slovenian national side at the start of next week ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia, Malta and Croatia.

All of Slovenia’s matches are taking place in green list countries, meaning Sporar will not have to quarantine when he eventually travels to England.

There are unlikely to be any significant outgoings in the final few days of the window, with senior Boro sources having dismissed any suggestion of Marcus Tavernier being allowed to leave despite stories emerging linking the midfielder with a possible move to Burnley.