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Middlesbrough are on the verge of smashing their transfer record to sign Britt Assombalonga.

Boro chiefs are close to completing a £14m deal for the prolific Nottingham Forest striker after beating off Premier League interest.

The penalty box livewire is understood to be at Rockliffe Park today in advanced talks with Boro and if they go well he could move to the medical stage very quickly.

Garry Monk is keen for the deal for his top target to be completed quickly so the hitman can get to work with his reshaped squad.

Boro are understood to have offered Forest a hefty down-payment for the striker’s service with add-ons related to goals and games plus a promotion bonus that could take the total to £14m, which would be a new club record.

The fee is far richer than the £12.7m Boro shelled out to Heerenveen for Brazilian flop forward Afonso Alves in January 2007 and a lot more than the £10.8m they gave Atalanta for Marten de Roon last year.

Boro have also topped the personal packages mooted by Premier League rivals. Boro's offer is believed his Forest wages and if he helps secure promotion could rise to as much as £60,000 per week.

(Image: Getty Images)

Assombalonga returned from Forest’s pre-season trip to Florida at the weekend and went straight into talks over his future.

Forest had been keen to spark a bidding war and hoped to entice top flight suitors Burnley and Watford to firm up their own interest.

Burnley had offered £8m last week but a second bid over the weekend fell well short of Boro’s package. And Watford had inquired and flirted with making a bid but dropped out saying they wouldn’t match Boro’s bid.

That sharpened the minds of Forest chiefs and when the player said he wanted to talk to Middlesbrough they relented.

Having put big money on the table Boro have long been in poll position for their top target. The striker who banged in 14 goals in a struggling side last term after returning from a serious injury in January.