Middlesbrough were on Tuesday night discussing personal terms with Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin after having an offer for the Frenchman accepted.

Distin rejected the offer of a new deal at Eastlands, and his existing deal has less than 12 months still to run. City have not yet revealed details of the fee for Distin.

Middlesbrough have earmarked the 28-year-old as a replacement in the centre of defence for Gareth Southgate, who retired as a player after being appointed manager earlier this summer.