Middlesbrough confirmed the departure of a midfielder as the final day of the summer transfer window rapidly approaches.

Middlesbrough have confirmed midfielder Abdoulaye Kante has left the Riverside Stadium just days before the summer transfer window comes to an end after agreeing a permanent deal with Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq.

The Ivory Coast youth international joined Boro from French clubs Troyes in a £2m deal last summer and made five appearances before spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Saint Etienne. No permanent move was forthcoming at the end of the season and Kante returned to Boro during the summer before making a surprise appearance in their 2-1 home win against Lincoln City earlier this month.

Abdoulaye Kante's move to Boro never worked out. | Getty Images

placeholder image — Abdoulaye Kante's move to Boro never worked out. | Getty Images

Explaining his decision to name the midfielder in his starting eleven, Boro head coach Kim Hellberg said: "With Alpha, he's come back in a good shape, doing everything, and I think the loan benefited him, because that's also another thing - sometimes you need to look at a player and say, 'Okay, he's doing very good here, but he's too far away to play for the moment’, so he may have to go on loan to come back and be closer. And that's what Alpha did, and did it brilliantly. He’s been doing very, very good every training session. He listens, trains, and did some very good things here [against Lincoln]. So, yeah, we'll see."

However, that appearance on the opening day of the Championship campaign will now go down as the last of a Kante’s time at the Riverside Stadium after the midfielder’s move to the Saudi Pro League was officially confirmed over the weekend.

A club statement released on Sunday afternoon read: “Midfielder Abdoulaye Kante has joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq on a permanent deal. The move brings an end to the 21-year-old's one-year stay at Boro, following his arrival last summer from Troyes. The Ivorian made six appearances for Boro, and started on the opening day of the 2026/27 season at home to Lincoln City. He spent the second half of last season on loan with Saint-Etienne, and now begins the next chapter of his career in the Saudi Pro League. Everyone at MFC thanks Alpha for his efforts and wishes him well for the future.”

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