Arsenal defender Calum Chambers is travelling to Middlesbrough to undergo a medical today, according to Sky Sports.
The England international, aged 21, is set to join Boro on a season-long loan.
Chambers would find himself as the Gunners’ sixth-choice centre-back if he stayed at the Emirates Stadium beyond tomorrow’s transfer deadline. He was already behind Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel in the pecking order, while summer signing Rob Holding has leapfrogged him and Germany international Shkodran Mustafi is expected to sign from Valencia before the transfer window closes.
Injuries to Mertesacker and Gabriel, plus an extended break handed to Koscielny after Euro 2016, elevated Chambers’ position in recent weeks and he scored in the defeat to Liverpool in Arsenal’s Premier League opener. But the former Southampton youngster, who joined the Gunners in a £16m deal in July 2014, will instead push for a place in Aitor Karanka’s starting lineup for the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign.
