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Middlesbrough Academy striker Arnel Jakupovic has left the club and joined Italian side Empoli on a permanent deal.

The 18-year-old has agreed a deal with the Serie A side until 2021, and has followed Carlos de Pena out of the Riverside exit door.

The burly striker - spotted at his native Austria Wien in 2015 by Boro scout Gary Gill - was quickly brought to the club and caught the eye last season for the Under-23s.

Jakupovic, a regular in the Austria Under-19s side who has also previously been invited to train with the national Under-21 side, ended last season with 20 goals in 20 appearances for Paul Jenkins' second-string.

But it's been a campaign of frustration for the Austrian starlet so far, picking up an injury at the end of last year while on international duty - and missing a large chunk of Boro Under-23s' domestic schedule.

"Arnel's all-round play is coming on now," Jenkins told the Gazette in September 2015.

(Image: Photo: Mark Fletcher | Shutter Press)

"I guess that pleased me more than anything. I know he can score goals and score out of anything, but his work ethic was very good. The way he got about - he was a big threat.

"When you have Arnie up there, the ball is sticking now so it's bringing other people into play."

Jakupovic leaves Boro for an undisclosed fee.