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Marvin Emnes is expected to complete his move to Swansea City in the next 24 hours.

The Premier League club will reportedly pay in the region of £1.4m for the 26-year-old, who has enjoyed two separate loan spells with the Swans.

The Dutch playmaker has been excused from pre-season training with Boro and, with the deal all but done, is set to be unveiled as a City player today.

Swansea have been tracking Emnes for the best part of four years. The club’s head of recruitment, Dave Leadbeater, worked for Boro in a scouting capacity before moving to the Liberty Stadium and was involved in the player’s move from Holland to England.

Emnes joined Boro from Sparta Rotterdam as a raw 20-year-old six years ago this month in a £3.2m deal.

He arrived as one of Holland’s hottest young properties but struggled to establish himself in Gareth Southgate’s first team during the ill-fated 2008/09 season which ended in relegation.

He made 15 starts that season and just 16 in a disappointing Championship campaign that followed.

Southgate’s replacement, Gordon Strachan, didn’t initially give Emnes a squad number before the start of the 2010/11 season, telling the playmaker to find another club.

He eventually relented and included him in the squad but the Dutchman was soon sent out on loan to Swansea, where he impressed under the management of future Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

Hearing good reports coming out of South Wales, Strachan’s replacement, Tony Mowbray, recalled Emnes.

He performed well over the second half of the season and, ahead of the 2011/12 campaign, penned a two-year contract extension that ends next summer.

The following season was his best in a Boro shirt but has been unable to maintain that standard since.

He returned to Swansea on loan in the January transfer window and dropped several hints that he’d like to pen a permanent deal.

Speaking recently, Emnes spoke about a potential Swans switch.

“Whenever I have been with Middlesbrough, I have always done my very best for them,” he said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to get promotion. But hopefully they will help me now by allowing me to stay in the Premier League – that would be nice.

“I’ve enjoyed playing under Garry Monk. He has spoken a lot to me in training and what he wants from me in games.”

The aforementioned Monk, who replaced previous City head coach Michael Laudrup in February, has some words of advice for Emnes.

“I’ve talked to Marvin about how I feel going forward,” he said. “I like him, but he needs to improve on a lot of things - his fitness for one.”