EMMANUEL Latte Lath is on the verge of leaving Middlesbrough to sign for Atlanta United.
Boro and the MLS side are putting the finishing touches to a deal, with the fee understood to be around £22.5m.
The striker is still currently on Teesside but is said to have already undergone his medical, with a deal now set to be completed in the coming days.
Boro had prepared for the possibility of Latte Lath leaving this month and he will be replaced ahead of Monday night's deadline.
Boro and Atlanta have been in talks for the last couple of weeks since the MLS first side first made a move for the Ivorian. Atlanta have since enquired about other targets but Latte Lath was always their top target and a deal is now being finalised.
The deal will be a record sale for Boro and record MLS transfer fee.
A number of Premier League clubs have been monitoring Latte Lath's situation in recent weeks but haven't lodged official bids.
Middlesbrough stand to make a huge profit on Latte Lath, who they signed for around £4m 18 months ago.
Boro will now turn their attention to finalising the signing of a replacement. Slovan Bratislava's David Strelec is understood to be one of three or four potential targets in the final days of the window.
