Premiership: Middlesbrough close in on McCarthy

Middlesbrough hope to tie up their swoop for South Africa striker Benni McCarthy within the next 48 hours.

The Celta Vigo frontman was reported to have been on Teesside after his representatives met with Boro's chief executive Keith Lamb over the weekend.

And all the indications are that any deal to bring the £10m-rated player to the Premiership would initially be on a loan basis.

McCarthy attracted serious interest from Aston Villa last season and has made no secret of his desire to play in England.

His arrival would come as a major boost to manager Steve McClaren, who has seen his shot-shy side fail to score a goal in their three outings to date this season.

McClaren arrived back in the north-east with the rest of the victorious England party during the early hours of Sunday morning and was due at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday night along with Sven-Goran Eriksson to see the Under-21s take on Albania.

But having found the time last week to meet former Rangers midfielder Allan Johnston to discuss his vision for the future, he may well have a few minutes to do the same with another target.

The South African would be the fifth addition to the Boro squad since the arrival of the new manager in June, with Gareth Southgate, Jonathan Greening, Mark Wilson and Johnston also heading for the Riverside.

Johnston seems likely to make his debut in Saturday's derby clash with Newcastle and Boro will hope to tie up McCarthy in time to do the same.